Specious Argument

I expect West Texas Intermediate oil prices to range between $35 to $45 per barrel for July. If oil prices go below $35, I do not expect them to stay there for long. If, however, prices surpass $45, they might stay at that level.

Although I gave a range of between $30 and $40 per barrel for June, prices have stayed about $35 so far, with prices even slightly exceeding $40 for a brief period. Even with the current outbreaks of COVID-19 in a few states, I believe this upward trend will continue. I expect governments and people will learn how to cope with the coronavirus. When the number of new cases spike up, more preventative measures will be reinstated. And given the current environment, OPEC+ might continue their cuts into August. Both actions will continue to reduce the glut of stored oil.

I also mentioned that investors with longer-term horizons consider the stocks of well-managed and well-capitalized oil companies. In early June, the stock prices of oil companies in general lifted, but then fell back down even as oil prices remained relatively firm. Although I am unable to explain why stock prices drifted back down, I continue to believe that good quality oil companies have attractive stock prices at these current levels.

Cumulative Number of COVID-19 Cases in Alberta

Some might point to the increased nervousness because of the coronavirus outbreaks as the reason for softening stock prices. If we look at Alberta’s number of COVID-19 cases, we see that the cases have leveled off. Should the numbers begin to spike upward again, I expect the government to roll back some of the opening measures. For example, perhaps bars will close or have more restrictions placed upon them.

I am going to take a slight detour to discuss semi-log graphs.

Some might have noticed that I used a semi-log graph to provide the Alberta coronavirus case numbers. The reason for using semi-log graphs is to show better the rate of increase. By using a traditional graph, it is difficult to detect changes in rates of growth.

Traditional Chart of Percentage Increases

For example, I created a sample graph where there are three curves: one, the green curve that starts with a growth rate of 15 percent and ends with a growth rate of 30 percent; two, a blue curve that grows at a constant 15 percent throughout; and a red curve that starts with a growth rate of 15 percent and ends with a growth rate of zero percent. By looking at the graph with its three curves, we know that the green curve is growing rapidly because it goes parabolic and it completely overwhelms the other two curves. Furthermore, because the end value is so large for the green curve, it is hard to discern any data or trends in the first half of the period for any of the curves.

Next, I created a semi-log chart using the exact same data. The green curve is slightly convex because its growth rate increases throughout from 15 percent to 30 percent. The blue curve is linear throughout because it grows at a constant 15 percent. And the red curve is concave because its growth decelerates from 15 percent to zero percent.

Semi-log Chart of Percentage Increases

If you are interested, you can download the Excel spreadsheet and play with the values yourself.

When we look at graphs showing the number of coronavirus cases, steeper curves show faster growth rates, linear curves show constant growth rates, and flatter curves show almost no growth rate. Going back to the first graph with the number of Alberta COVID-19 cases, we note that the growth rates was high in first week or so. That is expected because of the low base values. Then the growth rate decelerated from mid-March to early May. From early May onwards, the growth rate has plateaued. When I look at the numerical data, the growth rate for about the last month is roughly 0.5 to 1 percent per day.

Returning back to the topic of July’s oil prices, I expect that Alberta will watch the number of coronavirus cases and will, if necessary, adjust the preventative measures to keep the growth rate at a low value so that our social infrastructure can cope and to save and protect the health of Albertans. I further expect most jurisdictions to follow this same path.

Wrapping up, I expect WTI prices to range between $35 to $45 per barrel for July. Most jurisdictions will manage their policies so that the coronavirus growth rates moderate or stay low. OPEC+ might prolong their production cuts into August. Both measures are likely to reduce the glut of stored oil and push prices higher. And I continue to believe that stocks of well-managed and well-capitalized oil companies represent good value, but you and your financial adviser are responsible for your investment decisions.

For June, I expect West Texas Intermediate oil prices to range between $30 to $40 per barrel. If oil prices go below $30, I do not expect them to stay there long. Furthermore, I expect oil prices to drift upward over time. So if oil prices surpasses $40, they might stick. I am not overly confident of my forecast, even though it covers a wide range.

The Financial Times article “US shale industry braces for wave of bankruptcies” (subscription required) suggests hard times remain for the shale industry.

Analysts predict 250 companies could go bust before the end of next year unless oil prices rise fast enough to start generating cash for producers wilting under punishing debt loads.

A recent rally has taken the price of West Texas Intermediate, the US marker, back above $30 a barrel, having traded in negative territory last month. But it remains down by half since January — and well beneath average break-even oil prices in the shale patch — leaving many more producers teetering on the brink of bankruptcy.

The Wall Street Journal article “Coronavirus Threatens to Hobble the U.S. Shale-Oil Boom for Years” (subscription required) continues with that same theme.

While oil prices have rebounded in recent days and are above $33 a barrel, U.S. output is still poised to fall because companies aren’t drilling enough wells to make up for production declines from existing wells. Shale wells produce a lot of oil and gas early on, but quickly lose steam. Without investing in new wells, many companies’ output would decline by 30% to 50% in just a year, research firm Wood Mackenzie says.

In a recent Bloomberg article “Global Oil Demand Has Yet to Peak, Energy Watchdog Predicts,” (subscription might be required) IEA’s Faith Birol suggests that new demand from India and Africa will not offset potential reduction in consumption from the US.

“If there’s a strong economic recovery, American business consultants using Zoom will not compensate for 150 million new urban residents in India and Africa traveling, working in factories and buying products transported by trucks,” Birol said.

With most regions within the US now opening up and social distancing decreasing, oil demand and consumption are picking up. For those interested, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas provided an interesting article “New Dallas Fed Social Distancing Index Gives Insight into COVID-19’s Economic Impact.” The article states that its index is tightly correlated with Google COVID-19 Mobility. I would assume that it also correlates well with Apple Maps Mobility Trend Reports.

While I believe that the oil industry still faces a challenging period, market forces along with OPEC+ are helping to bring the supply-demand dynamic into balance. Furthermore, once we are past COVID-19, the demand for oil may surpass prior levels.

For these reasons, I still maintain that buying well-managed and capitalized oil companies may be a prudent investment decision for those with a long-term horizon. And as stated last month, I am not providing any investment advice or guidance, and you and your adviser are responsible for your investments.

Given the extreme oil price volatility these past few months, I am glad that I did not forecast any price ranges. There are way too many fast-moving parts that are poorly understood. I do not know that anyone can provide any guidance at this point with any confidence. That said, I do expect volatility to subside somewhat.

I am not providing any investment advice or guidance. You and your financial adviser are responsible for your own investment decisions and actions. That said, I encourage you to consider oil companies that possess financial and managerial strength to weather the current storm.

With the benefit of hindsight, I expect that the prices of many oil stocks bottomed in March. But I am not ruling out further downside or a new bottom in the coming months. In the short- to medium-term, however, increased testing and better treatment are likely to damp the negative effects of COVID-19 before a final vaccine is available for everyone. And in two, three, or four years, I expect that we will look back at this period and wish we had increased our exposure to the oil sector.

This downturn in the oil industry is the most severe that I have ever seen. Many companies simply will not survive. So again, I want to stress that long-term investors should pay attention to those companies that can withstand an extended period of low oil prices.

Although we are at midmonth with a very volatile oil environment, I want to bring to your attention an excellent podcast that I listened to this weekend.

Columbia Center on Global Energy Policy produced a podcast titled “Why This Crash is Different” featuring guests Helima Croft, Amy Myers Jaffe, and Bob McNally. I found this nearly hour-long podcast to be one of the best sources of information. Because the guests are knowledgeable and experienced, they were able to provide a great synopsis of what has taken place and provide their thoughts and opinions on future developments. I encourage you to listen.

Markets are extremely volatile and unpredictable with the unfolding of the COVID-19 crisis and the OPEC+ brouhaha. For those reasons, I will not be providing an oil price forecast at the end of this month and possibly for several more months. There is simply too much uncertainty.