Robert Brackett vaults from runner-up to No. 1. The Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. researcher wins plaudits for writing what one client terms “the most thought-provoking research reports in the industry.” The combination of plentiful natural-gas supply, thanks largely to discoveries at shale sites, and a lack of near-term demand growth means the commodity’s price will remain below $4 per million BTUs for the foreseeable future, says Brackett, 45. However, investors should not expect shale oil to lower oil prices like shale gas lowered natural-gas prices. Shale oil production is more difficult to ramp up because its inventory is smaller than shale gas’s, and shale oil is entering a bigger market, so it has less influence over pricing. Brackett predicts that 2013 will mark an inflection point for shale oil. “A year from now we’ll have more oil production than today; two and three years from now, still more. But the pace at which it grows is slowing and slowing until it hits a plateau.” Armed with more than ten years’ industry experience gained at Exxon Mobil Corp. and Hess Corp., Brackett joined Bernstein in 2010. He holds a Ph.D. in earth and planetary sciences from St. Louis’s Washington University and an MBA from Rice University in Houston. — Carolyn Koo |
The 2013 All-America Research Team: Oil & Gas Exploration & Production, No. 1: Robert Brackett
