High oil prices tend to trigger a so-called “neighborhood effect” where selected manufacturing businesses that are located closer to their customers get a price advantage over competitors that are located far away. That is because local businesses have lower transportation costs than their out of town, or out of country, competitors. [read full story]
On Monday the Wall Street Journal ran an article that described the end of the golden era for oil refiners. It is a great article that, unfortunately, was published many years too late to be considered news. Just as gravity is a force that brings all objects to earth, public policy that destroys the demand […] [read full story]
Last week I published a blog article that discussed energy policy and suggested that an effective energy policy requires federally established minimum oil prices. Low and volatile oil prices destroy private investment in energy projects because returns become too uncertain to attract financing. As oil trades between $40 and $50 per barrel investment capacity for […] [read full story]
President Elect Obama nominated his energy team yesterday and emphasized that energy policy is a national priority. Every President since Jimmy Carter has talked about U.S. energy independence, but no President has actually broken the U.S. addiction to imported oil. In the 1970s, I studied energy economics and policy and learned that mandates, slogans and “feel […] [read full story]
Recent Comments