Oil industry facing headwinds in 2008

NEW YORK, Feb 10 (Reuters) – Will 2008 be the year that the oil industry’s vastly profitable ride slows?

After years of record oil prices and profits, the oil industry is facing the headwinds of a weak U.S. economy, dwindling access to supplies and slowing production.


These will be among the top issues discussed by oil executives and policymakers in Houston at this week’s CERAweek energy conference — one of the biggest U.S. energy conferences of the year.

“For the last half decade we’ve been in a very high growth global economy and that has been the No. 1 driver of energy prices. The degree of a downturn will change the equation,” said Daniel Yergin, Chairman of Cambridge Energy Research Associates, the group hosting the conference.

Reuters