Is That Party for Line Pipe Suppliers Really Over?

           Line pipe suppliers, it looks as if the glory days of supplying pipe for the U.S. shale oil boom are numbered. You have my sympathies, but let's get real. Did you really expect the supply of oil to last another 10, or even 20 years with the rise in popularity of renewable sources of energy? If you suppliers were seriously expecting the business between yourselves and the oil companies to last, you have succumbed to a little lapse in judgment I call: wishful dreaming.

The initial rate of oil production was quite promising. However, there is no real science behind forecasting an oil supply. Production of U.S. shale oil was expected to thrive past the year 2020. Well, "not so fast my friends.” Even with 5.5 years till we hit 2020, new projections are showing that this is the year when production will peak. Here is an opportunity for the steel pipe industry to learn from your greatest blunder; setting your primary focus on supplying a non-renewable resource.

I'm not one to drink the Kool-Aid from the school of thought that the world can survive completely without fossil fuels. However, I have accepted the fact that renewable sources of energy can take a giant load off the production and necessity of fossil fuels. For steel pipe suppliers, there are still tremendous opportunities available. Use your supply of steel to contribute to the growth of alternative forms of energy production and the transition to a greener world.

Things may seem all doom and gloom for your industry at the present time due to those over-forecasted oil production figures. Just take a deep breath – everything will be alright. The party isn't over for your industry quite yet, and it doesn't have to be either. Starts focusing your supply toward more renewable energy sources and watch what happens…Long term industry health! Can it get much better than that?