We are not in Jed's world anymore
Those of us who are willing (and embarrassed) to admit that we watched the 1960s sitcom The Beverly Hillbillies are having strange flashbacks these days.
In the opening theme, Jed Clampett, the redneck rube played by Buddy Ebsen, makes finding oil look so easy. `Texas Tea` starts bubbling out of the ground after Jed accidentally fires a shotgun into the dirt. The lucky oil strike makes Jed rich; he moves his family to Beverly Hills ` and America moves one step closer to energy independence.
These days, pundits are making it sound like finding and producing oil in North America is as effortless as Jed`s OK Oil Company. Every week now, new analyst reports are talking about the massive potential of light, tight oil (LTO). I too have diarized the emergence of this trend in many of our columns, as early as 18 months ago. For example, last December, I suggested growth in continental LTO was going to be among the top energy stories of 2012. But the hype is going well beyond what I believe, and even what Jed could have imagined. And, is bringing to the forefront issues Jed didn`t have to concern himself with: energy security and infrastructure.
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