Study: Oil Prices to Remain Volatile Indefinitely

A new study from the Rational Assumptions think tank provides a completely unsurprising prognostication regarding the future of the oil market.

1 minute read

April 1, 2015, 1:00 PM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


"The price of oil will either go up or down before it goes up or down and then likely up or down again," according to a press release announcing the findings of the "Oil Prices: What We Know for Sure" study released on April 1, 2015.

According to the study's abstract, it's unclear who is pulling the strings of the global oil market, and no one should expect to understand or predict oil prices until the planet is completely exhausted of fossil fuels. "But that day will surely come," according to the study's findings. At that point, some combination of solar, hydrogen, wind, natural gas, and biomass is expected to replace oil as the energy source driving the world's economy.

According to the press release, fortunes will be won and lost in the process and the world will continue to discover and attempt to respond to new environmental impacts as the future unfolds.

Wednesday, April 1, 2015 in Planetizen April 1st Edition

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Use Code 25for25 at checkout for 25% off an annual plan!

Redlining map of Oakland and Berkeley.

Rethinking Redlining

For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

May 15, 2025 - Alan Mallach

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

May 21, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Interior of Place Versailles mall in Montreal, Canada.

Montreal Mall to Become 6,000 Housing Units

Place Versailles will be transformed into a mixed-use complex over the next 25 years.

May 22, 2025 - CBC

Flat modern glass office tower with "County of Santa Clara" sign.

Santa Clara County Dedicates Over $28M to Affordable Housing

The county is funding over 600 new affordable housing units via revenue from a 2016 bond measure.

May 23 - San Francisco Chronicle

Aerial view of dense urban center with lines indicating smart city concept.

Why a Failed ‘Smart City’ Is Still Relevant

A Google-backed proposal to turn an underused section of Toronto waterfront into a tech hub holds relevant lessons about privacy and data.

May 23 - Governing

Pale yellow Sears kit house with red tile roof in Sylva, North Carolina.

When Sears Pioneered Modular Housing

Kit homes sold in catalogs like Sears and Montgomery Ward made homeownership affordable for midcentury Americans.

May 23 - The Daily Yonder