Profit season in the oil industry is in full swing, and the mood is upbeat: strict financial discipline is paying off, cash flows are improving (or emerging after a long absence), and the industry is growing again. And there are those who claim that we have seen the last big oil price collapse. Some beg to differ however. A notable voice among the skeptics is Reuters market analyst John Kemp. In a recent column Kemp lays out in detail the reasons why the “It will never happen again” refrain is wishful thinking at best and delusion at worst. The oil industry, he says, has a cyclical nature. Learning from past mistakes, while a good thing generally, cannot help avoid the next bust because boom and bust is the very nature of oil. With the scars from the last bust still fresh, the oil industry is being cautious with new […]