At the opposite end of the pipeline, however, the producers of oil are finding it increasingly difficult to replenish the dwindling deposits. We have entered a phase where a surge in the price of oil no longer draws out a comparable expansion in the volume of production nor the stockpile of reserves.
These outcomes are the first signs of a sea change in the marketplace. On a positive note of sorts, the financial crisis of 2008 bashed the global economy and shoved it into the worst tailspin of a lifetime. The upshot was a respite of the oil market from its inexorable advance to dizzy heights.
On the other hand, we will not encounter a similar trip-up in the marketplace in the absence of another catastrophe in the financial forum or the real economy. For this reason, the demand for energy will only burgeon with the passage of time.
Jagged Path of Oil
Naturally, there will be temporary dips in price on occasion due to a recession or some other upset. Even so, only a catastrophe that crushes the global economy and throws the entire planet back to a pre-industrial era will “save” us from the specter of oil shortages standing in our path.
We have no reason to suppose that such an event will occur in the foreseeable future. And if we did, it would be a boon for the population in their role as consumers of oil; but the blowout would mark the end of modern society. For this reason, we would have to make every attempt to prevent such a calamity, or to recover from the crackup if it were to occur.
As things stand, however, we have enough stumpers on our plate. The challenge of meeting our energy needs is by itself a sword of Damocles hanging over our heads. In fact, there is no way that the current trends can continue into the indefinite future.
On the contrary, we will run into a catastrophe of our own making if we let matters slide as we have been doing for so long. In spite of the specter that threatens life as we know it, the end of the age of oil is not the thrust of this article.
Rather, the primer at hand deals mainly with the outlook for oil as a backdrop for investment planning. Granted, the financial forum at times goes off into extremes of passion in the midst of a bubble or panic, pushing prices to extremes that have scant basis in reality.
The bulk of the time, however, the marketplace does not exist in a vacuum. Rather, the action in the forum is tied, however, tenuously, to the condition of the environment.
For this reason, the canny investor takes a sober look at the external environment as the groundwork for thrashing out a trenchant strategy. To this end, the article at hand is designed to serve as a launching pad for a deft sally into the market for the long haul.
More on Trends in Oil: Guidelines and Top Videos for Investment Planning.
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