Profiting from the Petrol Pump Panic
To me, the logic here is brilliantly simple. When Middle Eastern supply lines look shaky, companies pulling oil out of Texas or the Dakotas suddenly find their product in very high demand. They are selling the exact same barrels, but at a premium.
Take Exxon Mobil or EOG Resources. Their operational costs do not necessarily skyrocket overnight, but their profit margins could expand rather nicely.
This is the beauty of domestic geography.
By staying away from the conflict zones, North American energy producers might capture the upside of a crisis without the operational nightmare of being in the middle of it. Of course, energy markets are notoriously fickle. If tensions cool tomorrow, oil prices could drop just as fast. Risk is always riding shotgun in the commodities market.