WTI is trading at $119 this morning on the news that OPEC will continue on their current trajectory, UK will impose windfall taxes of 25% on large oil companies (North Sea is a major global production hub), and the EU will ban ocean going crude oil imports from Russia (Saudi will increase prices to EU). Over the weekend Nancy Pelosi tweeted that Democrats will bring price gouging at the pump to an end. Approximately one year ago prominent Democrats claimed they were going to investigate price gouging at the pump. Nothing ever came of that, as nothing has come of the 5-7 other times politicians have claimed they were going to investigate it over the last 50 years. The notion that there is price gouging is nonsensical hogwash designed to shed blame.
We are in grave danger of ignorant politicians sending WTI to $200 per barrel and possibly even higher. One day these people threaten to put oil and gas executives in jail as Biden did in a debate against Sanders in 2020, the next day they beg for more production as Biden has multiple times over the last 9 months, and the next day they talk about price gouging as Pelosi did over the weekend. None of that inspires wall street to invest, none of that inspires large oil company executives to increase drilling budgets, and what we need now is more investment and an increase in the exploration and production budgets of the supermajors and our domestic shale majors, and more investment in refining capacity and in field pipeline takeaway capacity.
I am not sure our current political class will ever get us there. They continue to prioritize platitudes over physics and they continue to try little gimmicks to lower prices at the pump. Only one thing will do that, and it is the last thing Democrats will give us.
We are in grave danger of ignorant politicians sending WTI to $200 per barrel and possibly even higher. One day these people threaten to put oil and gas executives in jail as Biden did in a debate against Sanders in 2020, the next day they beg for more production as Biden has multiple times over the last 9 months, and the next day they talk about price gouging as Pelosi did over the weekend. None of that inspires wall street to invest, none of that inspires large oil company executives to increase drilling budgets, and what we need now is more investment and an increase in the exploration and production budgets of the supermajors and our domestic shale majors, and more investment in refining capacity and in field pipeline takeaway capacity.
I am not sure our current political class will ever get us there. They continue to prioritize platitudes over physics and they continue to try little gimmicks to lower prices at the pump. Only one thing will do that, and it is the last thing Democrats will give us.
