Energetic Disagreements on Oil

Conventional wisdom holds that oil prices, like anything else, are controlled by supply and demand, and international economic growth is fueling better-than-expected demand (see BW, 7/11/05, “Is There Plenty of Oil?”).

Yet oil industry insiders seem to disagree on whether imbalances exist and availability projections. The picture is clouded since reliable data on supply and demand, especially in certain foreign markets, can be difficult to come by.

BusinessWeek Online’s June Kim spoke with several experts to see if they can define current market conditions and what may happen in the months and years ahead. Following are edited excerpts of their answers to key questions about oil.
BusinessWeek Online