WSJ: Harold Hamm Predicts Oil Prices Doubling By Year End
Continental Resources CEO Sees Oil Prices Doubling by Year End
By CHRISTIAN BERTHELSEN, WSJ.com
Energy executive Harold Hamm says oil prices should double to $60 by the end of 2016—a contrary prediction for a market currently bracing for oil to fall to $20.
He also believes that Saudi Arabia made a “monumental mistake” in continuing to pump oil at a fast pace. The move not only depressed world prices but likely contributed to the lifting of the U.S. government’s 40-year ban on oil exports, Mr. Hamm said.
The supply glut has been a major factor behind the dwindling price for oil over the past 18 months. Benchmark U.S. oil futures briefly dipped below $30 Tuesday, their lowest level since 2003. On Wednesday, U.S. oil settled up four cents at $30.48 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Mr. Hamm, chief executive of top U.S. shale-oil producer Continental Resources Inc., believes that the current glut will ease substantially this year as U.S. shale companies ratchet down production until the market recovers. U.S. output has been falling recently but not as rapidly or by as much as many investors anticipated.
So what, harold ?