by Tanada » Mon 20 Jun 2016, 11:40:25
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('pstarr', 'r')ight zarquon, few would notice. But you are correct, oil traders would notice and so oil futures would suddenly trade at $200 (why not?) or more!. On word that current production will fall, there is no glut. (such is the nature of peak oil) The stock market would rally. Oil company valuations would soar. They'd be a flurry of activity. whoopee!
Oil-exporting nations would rally to the cause and pump more oil. But wait. No more oil to pump. So oil-exporting nations would sell their current production for $200/barrel. Domestic oil companies would follow suit and sell their oil for $200/barrel. Immediately. But who would buy oil at that price? Maybe rich Americans? Sure. We would buy the oil.
We'd buy for a while. Until $5.00 gas hurt pump sales. Then refinery sales. you get it. Then what? Need oil to commute. Must have gasoline. No EV. Can't afford gasoline. Can't rideshare. (not any early adapter) Plus I have tools. Baby on board. A dog. Wet. Smelly. Gotta drive. Can't get to my suckass job a Walmart. need car. what to do?
Rationing. Bad big gumint. Some steal oil. Others steal oil nations. Oh boy! Big Trouble in little china.
I find your scenario implausible because all the oil traders know the economic impact of $147/bbl oil in 2008. Plus prices just do not quadruple over night, we are currently bumping around the $50/bbl mark.
My scenario is, some would horde and some price growth would take place, but until physical supply no longer meets physical demand the price will not go up very far or very fast. Once the shortages actually start to happen prices will/would then rise first to around $90/bbl, then they will/would continue creeping up as high as the economy can support. The increased price will cause a rebirth in the shale drilling and fracking industry and some supply will come online, but not enough to replace depletion in all the conventional fields that are the base of the world oil supply.
Things will be unpleasant, but humans being clever creatures will modify their behavior, buy alternate fuel vehicles, drive less, telecommute more and all the other strategies we saw in the 2005-2008 period of persistent price increases and the 2010-2014 period of constant high oil prices. However because of world peak and the constantly falling supply of medium API crude coupled with the amount of time it takes to build heavy crude upgrading refineries and coal to liquids or gas to liquids plants the supply will be consistently lower than demand.
IMO at that point governments are liable to do two things, price controls to prevent prices from smashing the economy, and rationing to make sure the military, agribusiness, police/fire/medical have as much as they need and the casual consumer only has what is left.