10 Energy Surprises In 2017

There’s less than two weeks left before the 2016 calendar gets tossed. So for the pundit community it’s time to publish the obligatory list of, ‘What to Watch For in in the New Year’.
It’s pointless to list the obvious. For oil and gas, pundits know that things like OPEC compliance, U. S. rig counts, pipeline angst, and Chinese consumption are on a long list of standard items that are obligatory to parse from our cluttered news feeds.
But what are the nascent items that could lead to unforgiving surprises? ‘When everyone looks to the right, it’s time to look left,’ is an adage I always go by. So for 2017 here is a 10-item listicle that won’t be in the mainstream, but may be worthy of the left shoulder.
1. Sales of the Chevy Bolt – GM’s mass market, pure battery electric vehicle made its debut late this year. Reviews have been positive. Early sales figures in ’17 will be a litmus test for the potential displacement of pistons, valves and gears – and also whether the long-term outlook for crude oil is acid or base.

This post was published at Zero Hedge on Dec 22, 2016.