He pointed out that the bloc has agreed to welcome six new countries: Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Three of those are key members of OPEC, which will heighten the BRICS’ focus on energy.

‘When you look at a map, BRICS/OPEC is now an energy play as well — it’s an energy powerhouse with a lot of strategic real estate that controls sea lines of communication. So that is what’s going on,’ said King.

Although the world is transitioning to cleaner sources of energy, he emphasized that oil and gas will be part of the mix for longer than many governments would like to believe — that means there are opportunities for investors to profit.

In King’s view, the refiners are currently the best bet in the hydrocarbons sector. ‘Right now the moneymakers are the refiners — like Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO), Marathon Petroleum (NYSE:MPC), HF Sinclair (NYSE:DINO). They are minting money,’ he said.

King also discussed a number of the mining companies he visited this past summer in BC and Yukon, mentioning Fireweed Metals (TSXV:FWZ,OTCQB:FWEDF), Western Copper and Gold (TSX:WRN,NYSEAMERICAN:WRN), Victoria Gold (TSX:VGCX,OTC Pink:VITFF), Dolly Varden Silver (TSXV:DV,OTCQX:DOLLF) and Metallic Minerals (TSXV:MMG,OTCQB:MMNGF).

Overall, he sees a need for hard assets as the world eventually emerges from the current turmoil.

‘On the other side of this mess, something else is going to be valuable. Rather than Canadian dollars, US dollars, something else is going to have a lot of value, and I suspect it’s going to look a lot like gold or silver or copper — hard assets,’ he said.

Watch the interview above for more from King on the resource sector.

Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.