The Next Oil Boom Could Be Here Sooner Than You Think

Despite the support of OPEC, crude prices remain in the doldrums again this year. While many initially expected that oil would stay in the mid-$50s, it has fallen well short of those forecasts, spending most of the year in the $40s. Driving down prices has been a combination of weaker demand growth and unexpectedly robust production from U.S. shale producers as well as Libya and Nigeria, which are both exempt from OPEC's output cuts.

That said, the longer oil stays lower, the greater the risk it rockets higher in the future. That's because weaker pricing continues to cause producers to curb long-term investment. In fact, the industry has deferred or delayed $2 trillion of oil projects due to pricing. It's a situation that might cause an oil supply shortage as early as 2020, which could send prices higher.

Image source: Getty Images.

Source: Fool.com