[copious.abundance]

I'm just saying, it's dumb to think magazine cover predictions can mean anything. They can be right, or they can be wrong.

[SeaGypsy]

Of course. This one runs contrary to much spin in the opposite direction; usually base on some extremely unlikely cost breaks for US producers- or on nothing more than thin air.

My best guess is a fairly steady rise, nothing too outrageous too soon.

[ROCKMAN]

SeaGypsy – I suspect you meant spend more to develop oil/NG than it sells for and not “produce”. Many companies are selling oil/NG for less than it cost them to drill those wells. I have one in S. La. that will never recover the $19 million we spent to drill it. Such is life. LOL.

But that’s what we’ll do once a well is drilled. We participated in $400 million worth of drilling going after deep NG during our first 3 years. In the last 18 months we’ve spent exactly $0.00 drilling for NG. I’ll sell my production at the price the market will set. But I won’t necessarily drill new wells at that price. Generally it’s difficult for folks to appreciate the time lag time between a change in oil/NG prices and the change in production volumes. And that’s the great uncertainty about the future of the oily shale plays…what is that disincentive price. And on top of that guess is when would that price develop and how long would it last.

No…I don’t have a guess. But I'm sure some magazine cover will be right eventually: every blind pig will have his day in time and someone always wins the lottery regardless of how bad the odds are.