The Daily

A Glut in Oil

Apr 27, 2020

Clifford Krauss, an energy correspondent for The New York Times, dives into the shocking times the oil market is facing. He explains how a strange quirk led to oil prices dropping below zero, revealing a stressed market suffering from oversupply and plunging demand due to the pandemic. Krauss discusses the historical context of the crisis, the revolutionary effects of fracking on U.S. energy independence, and the looming question of balancing oil dependency with sustainability. This conversation sheds light on the future of energy amidst changing dynamics.

27:23

Creator website

Episode guests

Clifford Krauss

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Intro

2min

From Boom to Bust: The Oil Price Saga

12min

The Revolutionary Impact of Fracking on American Energy Independence

4min

Innovative Surgical Triumphs and the Oil Overproduction Crisis

2min

Navigating the Oil Glut Crisis

7min

Navigating Crisis: From Fiction to Reality

4min

Something weird happened last week. It was something that millions of people who have faced years of painful prices at the gas pump never expected: The cost of a barrel of oil dropped into the negatives. Today, we explore why this happened, and what it reveals about the state of the economy. Guest: Clifford Krauss, an energy correspondent for The Times based in Houston. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

Background reading:

The bizarre dip in oil prices was based on a quirk in the way barrels are traded, one that appears only when the market is “undergoing extreme stress.”
“I’m just living a nightmare,” one leader of a large petroleum association said. This is a look inside how the pandemic is decimating the oil industry.

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