Now the price has dropped I need to invest in oil.
That makes you what they call a "Bottom Feeder". LOL...
But I would be one too if I was interested in such things.
But the real problem is OPEC. Not Corona Virus. Sure, Corona was dropping the price of the futures market for Oil demand...all the reduced bookings on cruise ships and airplanes and shipping in general (except for toilet paper to Australia).
OPEC is nothing more that a group of countries that collaborate to keep the price of oil at prices that they like by reducing the supply of oil. Of course most of them cheat to some level...and that cheating helps configure the price too.
BUT
Russia and Saudi Arabia have gotten into a tiff over the amount of oil Russia could sell. S. A. always getting the lion's share of capability. Russia can produce another 31 million barrels of oil per day. Saudis can only produce another ~1.5 MBPD.
So...both have gone into producing and selling all that they can. They have left the table with absolutely no agreement whatsoever...and no plans to make one.(Cheapest oil always rules)
Now...what is really needed is refined oil products...and if either of the two could actually get refineries up and going...that would really move some oil products. Diesel, gasoline, motor oil, and etc would really help a lot and really drive the price down. Oil isn't really generic. It is determined what it will produce by the location it comes from and it's chemical composition. Some oil will make great motor oil, home heating oil, and diesel, (Ethiopia, Texas, Saudi, Russia) Some makes great plastics and vulcanized rubber (Canada, Ethiopia) and some makes great gasoline (South America and Mexico)
All this stuff has uses...all has by-products that we also use in great quantities...such as pigments for inks and paints, vitamins, fertilizers, wax and polishes, asphalt and sealing compounds, and grease.
The biggest problem we have is the refineries. We don't have nearly enough and most of the existing refineries have expanded to their maximum capacity...using as much land as they could grab. (EPA really clamped down) Offshore refining in the gulf and off the coast has really taken off...but it doesn't help where pipelines don't go.
So...we may see L.S. Crude at $20/barrel. $40 for sure.
Gas, here in America, will be under $2.00/gallon for most areas.
Now, with the corona virus, plus the lack of travel, embargos, and political unrest that low oil prices create...there is a lot of uncertainty out there causing the market to tank the last week and will continue to tank this week.