Byron King: What

02/11/09 Pittsburgh, PA Last year

What a difference a year makes. By about March last year, the price of oil began to spike upward. Eventually, in July 2008, it reached $147 per barrel. And then the price broke. Oil prices slid down into the $100s by Labor Day. Between late September and late December, prices dropped as low as $33 per barrel. Now in January 2009, oil is hovering around the low $40s per barrel, $100 less than back in July, only six months ago.

We had a wild ride in 2008. And I believe 2009 will give us some new shocks. First, we are seeing significant companies in the domestic gas drilling business, like Chesapeake Energy (CHK), scaling back their drilling programs. And we