The “I” Word October 7, 2021

---

As we last reported, this “recovery… …displays its own unique facets.  It is way slower than the rate of recovery in oil prices would imply”.  The downside of this slow uptick is now rearing its ugly head – INFLATION!  Yeow!  The “I” word!

Well, it is inevitable:  If the supply side cannot ramp up – for reasons due to Covid, labor shortages, scarce capital, too much risk, logistics or whatever – then, as the operators finally react to the very favorable price points for crude oil, the supply side is unable to ramp up in response to an upsurge in drilling and completions.  That’s happening in many places.  Take Oklahoma’s Anadarko Basin, for example.  It got hit really hard with The Pandemic Recession – much harder than the Permian.  The supply side was idled and skilled workers scattered.  The core of the labor force was gutted.  Now that operators – big and small – are trying to drill new wells for exploratory or developmental reasons, the service industry isn’t there to deliver.  Shortages, lead times, work quality, and price quotes – all bad.

First Keystone saw this coming and we are trying to be part of the solution!  We’re getting ready to deliver our first Drugstore gel mascara in Pecos in two years!  It is our entry-level Bobcat product which is a 3,750 sf office/warehouse with a one-acre fenced lot.  This industrial building for lease is available now.  Those suppliers looking to be able to respond should act now on this opportunity to rent an industrial building.