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Hmm
I am really not sure...up or down? But here is the thing;
Many economics professors I've talked to cite investment as the reason, and not a lack of supply. Many see this as a bubble that may likely pop sooner than later.
Sure, the days of "cheap" oil may be over for now; but the good news of rising traditional crude prices in the Middle East and Elsewhere is that it makes other oil types like shale and sands profitable to pump and refine.
I remember reading that the oil tied up in Canadian sands equates to roughly 1.5 times the current worlds supply, and shale oil throughout the Baltic Nations and Russia have been largely unexplored. Why? Pumping 80-95 dollar a barrel oil out of sands or shale was not profitable when 35 and 40 dollar a barrel conventional crude existed. Now, with oil at 126+ dollars a barrel, it is.
In my mind, the only good thing about these rising crude prices is that it gives us Americans a reason to concern and discover new ways of transporting ourselves, and also ways to extract petroleum from other sources. I think we all agree we'd rather fork over 100 dollars a barrel to our Canadian neighbors and those in Europe instead of paying the cartels of the Middle East to suck us dry.
My 2 cents
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