Which way, oh which way, will the oil price go?

SembCorp Marine's (S51) stock price languished in 2016 along with KeppelCorp's, as oil prices were driven down at the beginning of the year by severe global overproduction. SembCorp traded above $3.00 per share at the start of 2015. In early 2016, prices fell as low as $1.32 per share (demonstrating a 56% drop in a year), as oil prices plummeted. SembCorp suffered as contracts for rig-building dried up, and was forced to cut staff in the second half of 2016 as earnings dipped. The company, however, had an optimistic outlook:

"Despite the challenging outlook and intense competition, we believe that growth prospects for the offshore and marine industry remains encouraging over the long term."

December 2016 brought a ray of hope to the industry, as OPEC member and non-member countries stunned critics agreed to cut oil production by January. Recent reports [credit: Sydney Morning...