Asphalt
Biden’s energy policies are focused on going green, but a biproduct of all of this may have resulted in an interesting rise in a market that is anything but green. Oil. In Biden’s $2.25 trillion infrastructure proposal $115 billion is being allocated for roads and bridges, and another $16 billion is being put towards oilfield laborers. What this means is that although the plan is funding green infrastructure with the hope that it will pay off in the long-term for our environment, oil explorers and refiners will also benefit from the demand for asphalt to repair crumbling highways and pave new ones.
This is because one of asphalt’s key ingredients is oil, so who’s benefiting? Well, it seems like according to some experts like Charles Kemp, a senior consultant at Baker & O’Brien Inc “The asphalt industry should be elated with Biden’s plan to upgrade 20,000 miles of roads in the U.S.” But the portion of the industry to be excited will likely be outside of the US, this is because Kemp also said, “ this announcement favors heavier oil production from outside of the U.S., which contains roughly double the amount of asphalt versus the asphalt content in light crudes from U.S. domestic production.”
What do you think about the new infrastructure plan? Is it counter-intuitive by building so many roads? Or will it stand to benefit the environment in the long run?
I am not a financial advisor and my comments should never be taken as financial advice. Investments come with risk, so always do your research and analysis beforehand.
