The Calgary Herald reported that Warren Buffett and Bill Gates visited the oil sands of northern Alberta on Monday, which will undoubtedly draw more attention to the vast resources of the region. The Herald's source said the visit was both "to satisfy 'their own curiosity' but also 'with investment in mind'."

The wealthy pair toured Canadian Natural Resources' CNQ Horizon project, which we were fortunate enough to visit ourselves back in June. Despite hiccups along the way, this massive undertaking is finally ready to bear fruit. We've long been impressed with the way CNQ runs its business, which is why we were so glad to have the company speak at our annual stocks forum in April. Its long-term, disciplined approach truly puts shareholders first.

While we expect the availability and productivity of labor to be among several major challenges facing new projects over the next few years, the oil sands truly are a huge, well-defined resource. Low reinvestment risk eliminates the access-to-resource issue facing global operators, who have fewer and fewer sandboxes to play in. And as the reliability of supply from Mexico and Venezuela becomes even more uncertain, American refineries may come to rely more heavily on Canadian crude, despite ongoing environmental debate.

CNQ has hit 5-star territory frequently over the past year. Last week, we highlighted the undervaluation of its stock and a few other Canadian energy stocks in a Strategist article.

Among our other 5-star names in Canadian energy, EnCana ECA and Nexen NXY also have oil sands exposure. The impatient market can sometimes overlook the long-term value of these big resources, which is one reason EnCana will be splitting into a natural gas company and an integrated oil company.

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• Canadian Natural Resources
  
• EnCana
• Nexen