Representatives from institutional investors gathered in June to discuss oil prices and futures at the SMU Cox Executive Education Oil & Gas Investing seminar.
The seminar was an opportunity for institutional investors who currently maintain a large oil and gas position to meet leading industry experts in the field in an academic setting – the James M. Collins building.
Topics of discussion included different segments of the oil and gas industry, the geo science behind oil and gas excavation as well as discussions on speculating the price of oil.
“Until you actually see firsthand what it takes to find, produce, process and deliver oil and natural gas products, it’s almost impossible to understand the colossal risks and rewards this industry represents,” said Bruce Bullock, director of SMU’s Maguire Energy Institute and former oil industry executive. “Mix in the environmental, political, technological and cultural challenges of global petroleum, and you have a very complex landscape for investors to navigate. There’s no substitute for hearing from industry pros who have spent literally lifetimes getting prepared for today’s critical and highly dynamic oil and gas marketplace.”
The seminar came on the heels of the largest price increase in oil in history, with NYMX light sweet crude jumping over $10 a barrel on June 6, closing at over $138 a barrel.
The hopes for a market turnaround and lower energy prices for the summer were slashed when a major brokerage firm made the prediction that crude could hit $150 a barrel by early July. This prediction was not far off with crude closing at over $140 a barrel to close out the month of June.
With skyrocketing oil prices, speculation was a hot topic of discussion at the seminar. For Bullock, the uncertainty of the market is trouble for investors, and speculation only ads to the volatility of oil prices.
“A lot of people in the market had been selling, expecting prices to bump down, then we got this prediction for $150-a-barrel oil,” said Bullock. “Traders got spooked, and that helped drive the market even further. I don’t think it’s all market speculation, but it does add to the volatility.”
After the conclusion of the seminar, Frank Lloyd, associate dean of Executive Education in the Cox School of Business, considered the seminar a success and was pleased with the role SMU and Cox could play in the development of the future leaders of this critical industry and market.
“Leadership is of utmost importance in any industry,” Lloyd said. “Nowhere is this more true than in today’s global petroleum industry. It is only with capable leaders in place that companies can hope to navigate the turbulent waters of price volatility, shifting alliances and ownership, skilled talent shortages, supply and demand uncertainties and political risk. This year’s Oil & Gas Investing program confirmed for me just how critical leadership development is for the future of the world’s energy supply.”
