Experts in the News

Although Ida knocked out most offshore Gulf of Mexico oil and gas production, energy fellow Mark Finley said that the global market, the end of the peak-demand season, and relaxed fuel specifications could help avert major gas shortages and sky-high prices.

"The oil industry is still under immense pressure," but warnings of shale's demise are overstated, said energy fellow Mark Finley. “All of the other factors matter, but not as much as what the price does. The key will be can the industry keep its cost under control as it gets back to work.”

What's driving the increase in gasoline prices in Texas and nationwide? Crude oil production cuts by OPEC and Russia are part of the answer, said energy fellow Mark Finley, and the constrained supply may mean more pain at the pump to come. 

Some have said that President Biden's cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline early in his presidency would quickly result in higher gasoline prices — but that's not the case, said energy fellow Mark Finley. For starters, the pipeline wasn’t operating yet. "Revoking it does nothing to today’s balance" of supply and demand, he said. On the supply side, OPEC and Russia have made voluntary production cuts, which has the effect of raising prices, Finley said, and U.S. companies are investing less in finding new sources of oil.

 “Oil companies used to fear peak oil supply and focused on their growth prospects,” said energy fellow Mark Finley. “Now, these companies are bragging about their own peak oil supply.”