White House on energy
- White House says it it stands by calls to OPEC+ to do more to support global economic recovery and has communicated this to several OPEC+ members at the senior level
- White House says closely monitoring cost of oil and gas
I don't think this will work. OPEC+ has a pretty good leg to stand on when they say that higher oil prices are needed to spur investment in order to secure supply. If you keep oil at $60 by pumping full-out now, the lack of investment will mean $200 oil later.
What we're learning now is that at even $80, drillers aren't rushing to drill and part of that is regulation and part is pensions and equities shunning oil and gas. Why drill another hole when you can buy back your shares at 4-5x free cash flow?
And even if oil companies do generate excess cash, they're directing it towards ESG initiatives.
