No, that title is not a misprint. While everybody likes cheap energy and most economists believe that economic growth is predicated at least in part on cheap access to energy, it does not automatically follow that there is no good that can come from higher energy prices. Markets are made up of multiple independent agents and what constitutes a challenge for one can be an opportunity for others. (Learn a little more about the “non” part of this nonrenewable resource. Check out Peak Oil: Problems And Possibilities.)
1. Some Sectors Thrive It probably counts as obvious that there are sectors that thrive when oil prices march upward. High prices for oil fuel the same sort of process as in any other sector; suppliers look for ways to provide more of the product and take advantage of those higher prices. For energy, then, that means opportunities for companies involved in exploration (seismic survey, for instance), drilling, production and servicing.
Ultimately boom times in the energy sector filter into the economy. After all, a dollar in wages from an oil company spends the same at Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) as a dollar from a solar energy company. When oil prices are high, companies spend more on equipment, supplies, salaries and the like – money that enters the economy in much the same fashion as a boom in any other sector.
2. New Technologies Become Viable Cheap oil is problematic for companies and industries looking to supplant oil. While most people can agree that there are vague and nebulous costs associated with accessing and utilizing oil (pollution, for starters), the United States has been reticent to translate those costs into higher energy taxes. What’s more, it is not clear that higher taxes on fossil fuels in Europe and much of Asia really do anything to mitigate environmental damage beyond reducing consumption. All in all, then, when oil prices are low it is very hard for cleaner energy technologies to compete effectively on price.
