‘Squawk Box’ Guest Warns of $12-15-a-Gallon Gas
Wednesday, May 21st, 2008 | Email this to a friend | Print this
Posted by John Higgins under: Perplexity, Perilous Times
Robert Hirsch, an energy advisor, says CNBC morning show prediction was a citation of the ‘Dean of Oil Analysts.’
Perplexity
“…upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity…”
—Luke 21:25
Perilous Times
“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
—2Timothy 3:1-2a
”But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.”
—2Timothy 3:13
It may be the mother of all doom and gloom gas price predictions: $12 for a gallon of gas is “inevitable.”
Robert Hirsch, Management Information Services Senior Energy Advisor, gave a dire warning about the potential future of gas prices on CNBC’s May 20 “Squawk Box”. He told host Becky Quick there was no single thing that would solve the problem, due to the enormity of the problem.
[T]he prices that we’re paying at the pump today are, I think, going to be ‘the good old days,’ because others who watch this very closely forecast that we’re going to be hitting $12 and $15 per gallon,” Hirsch said. “And then, after that, when oil – world oil production goes into decline, we’re going to talk about rationing. In other words, not only are we going to be paying high prices and have considerable economic problems, but in addition to that, we’re not going to be able to get the fuel when we want it.”
Hirsch told the Business & Media Institute the $12-$15 a gallon wasn’t his prediction, but that he was citing Charles T. Maxwell, described as the “Dean of Oil Analysts” and the senior energy analyst at Weeden & Co. Still, Hirsch admitted the high price was inevitable in his view.
“I don’t attempt to predict oil prices because it’s been impossible in the past,” Hirsch said in an e-mail. “We’re into a new era now, and over the next roughly five years the trend will be up significantly. However, there may be dips and bumps that no one can forecast; I wouldn’t be at all surprised. To me the multi-year upswing is inevitable.”
Maxwell’s original $12-15-a-gallon prediction came in a February 5 interview with Energytechstocks.com, a Web site run by two former Wall Street Journal staffers.
“[Maxwell] expects an oil-induced financial crisis to start somewhere in the 2010 to 2015 timeframe,” Energytechstocks.com reported. “He said that, unlike the recession the U.S. appears to be in today, ‘This will not be six months of hell and then we come out of it.’ Rather, Maxwell expects this financial crisis to last at least 10 or 12 years, as the world goes through a prolonged period of price-induced rationing (eg, oil up to $300 a barrel and U.S. pump prices up to $15 a gallon).”
According to associate of Maxwell at Weeden & Co., Maxwell is out of the country and currently unavailable for comment.
Maxwell’s biography on the Weeden & Co. Web site said he “has been ranked by the U.S. financial institutions as the No. 1 oil analyst for the years 1972, 1974, 1977 and 1981-1986,” according to polls taken by Institutional Investor magazine.
“In addition, for the last 17 years he has been an active member of an Oxford-based organization comprised of OPEC and other industry executives from 30 countries who meet twice a year to discuss trends within the energy industry.”
Although Maxwell’s prediction is for the long-term, not everyone supports high-end predictions, even in the short-term. CNBC contributor and the vice president of risk management for MF Global (NYSE:MF) John Kilduff said on “The Call” May 7that he expected gas prices to drop following the Chinese Olympics, as China’s economic boom
Linda says Comment posted on May 21st, 2008
They are bringing our nation to its knees, & it’s a shame for the majority that it’s not to pray.
Lance Gilman says Comment posted on May 23rd, 2008
Surprise! We have oil in America.
Let’s drill here.
OIL BOOM 2008! Put pipelines together.
Build new high tech refineries. Manufacture higher mileage vehicles.
Employ and educate millions. While we’re at it, build some more nuclear power plants to generate more efficient energy.
Global warming is a lie just like evolution, and it has blinded and misled
many sincere and conscientious individuals.
I disagree with the environmentalist groups on many issues.
They are like a bad oil spill oozing into our homes and corrupting government officials and the media - taking away the rights of individuals, and strangling entrepreneurs.
Don’t tread on me…
Ernest Gregoire says Comment posted on May 24th, 2008
Let em eat corn!
Libearl-Green-Whackos, pushed for Ethanol and forced the gullible govermnent officials to foist it upon us. The result= high food prices!
You can’t get more out of a system than you put into it. This is simple physics. A tank full of bio-produced ethanol takes enough corn to feed a man for a year.
Don’t burn food! Its a sin!
Linda says Comment posted on May 24th, 2008
FYI:
Without Vision and the Fear of God, America Will Perish
In This Energy Crisis -
Bill Wilson
http://www.watch.org/showart.php3?mcat=1&idx=104435&showsubj=1&rtn=/index.html
WASH—May 21—KIN– Oil prices are bashing through never before seen levels each day. Food prices consequently are rising at alarming rates. Utility bills are also on a record pace. The amount of disposable income each American has is dwindling faster than ever. It is time for American leadership to take action for the sake of the welfare of the people and for national security. But what does this group of leaders do? President Bush goes to the Middle East and begs Saudi Arabia and others to raise oil production. The Congress votes to sue OPEC for price fixing. While Americans are suffering, immoral and inept elected officials are scurrying about with less than effective solutions to an energy issue that threatens the nation.
President Bush rightly articulated the solution by saying that the nation needed to drill for domestic oil, increase refining capacity and find alternative energy resources. An inept and irresponsible Congress has blocked both domestic oil exploration and the building of new refineries, and is so caught up in the so-called “green revolution” that the country, and its people, are being drained of economic freedom with every tick of the second hand. Congress passed legislation to stop the government from stocking the strategic petroleum reserve and the Bush Administration complied–this move, which would not impact the price at the pump, even further endangers Americans.
It is reported that on his recent trip to the Middle East, President Bush offered Saudi Arabia nuclear technology for an increase in oil production. Further arming Islamic regimes with nuclear technology for a few barrels of oil is akin to giving up your inheritance for a bowl of soup. And there were likely many other offers to Islamic nations by the Bush Administration that are not yet public. Congress voted to allow the Justice Department to sue OPEC under U.S. antitrust laws for price fixing. None of these measures will solve the problem, but in the current culture of political window-dressing, politicians think they are doing something.
Proverbs 29:18 says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keeps the law, happy is he.” Americans are perishing because we have elected leaders that lack vision and ignore God’s laws. We must recognize that we are living in a national crisis. With every hour of delay in dealing with it, it grows exponentially. Congress and the Administration must put aside the politics of destruction and convene a working group of the smartest non-political, God-fearing problem solvers and inventors in the nation and task them with solving the energy problem as if our lives depend upon a most immediate solution. If not, Americans must be willing to do what government will not. By the blessing of God, it can be done.