An Opportunity That Could Go Nuclear

"Over $2 a litre! They are taking us to the cleaners and we don't even get our oil from the strait!" The rage in the man's voice was real. He and the others agreed there was some serious gouging of consumers happening and they didn't like it. I was eavesdropping on the older gentlemen's conversation, but they were yelling with rage and a sprinkle of hearing loss, so it was impossible not to. Eight of them huddled around a comically small Tim Hortons table on a dreary west coast morning.

I knew instantly what they were upset about, just like everyone else in the Tim Hortons did. The gentlemen were appalled with the increase in gas prices over the last few weeks. The current war in Iran and the shutting down of the Strait of Hormuz, saw a 20% decline in the supply of daily oil which led to the increase in crude oil prices and a rapid rise in gas prices.

I wanted to jump into the conversation and help explain why we in Western Canada were seeing a rise in gas prices, but my introverted self screamed against it. Besides, my mind was already moving on. A 20% shortage in world oil was leading to this anger and chaos mainly because it was so unexpected. I cursed myself for not buying some oil bull ETFs with a gang of day traders a few days ago, as the war rumours swirled and with the true unpredictability of the US president. It was a missed opportunity, but more of a gamble than anything, I wanted more of a sure thing.

This anger I observed at the price increase in gas had me revisiting another interesting demand and supply story I hadn't thought about in some time. It was something exciting yet boring, in demand yet about to be chronically undersupplied. It could be the greatest opportunity in a lifetime and it is happening so slowly almost everyone can see it coming. To me that's where the next great opportunity lies — , the opportunity right in front of all of us, like buying gold at under $2000 an ounce, you know it's going to rise in price, the question is when.