“Much thinking about oil is misguided, because analysts often have misunderstood the nature of the oil market. Envision the oil market as a giant bathtub containing the world inventory of oil that has been extracted and is available for purchase. Consider a integrated world oil market; transactions in such a market will be the outcome of a multitude of individual supplies and demands, but the price and the total quantity will be determined only by the sum of the demands and the sum of the supplies. Their composition is irrelevant”. Prof. Nordhaus says in its presentation at 2009 International Energy Workshop held in Venice (17-19 june).

Go to William D. Nordhaus presentation (audio and slides)

The 2009 International Energy Workshop’s website

Prof. Nordhaus’s web page at Yale University