Oil Prices: Four Experts Size Up the Energy Market

Perhaps the biggest surprise of 2014 was the sharp decline in oil prices. Black gold fell almost 60% from its summer peak of $107 to a low of $44 in January, before enjoying a nice bounce to a recent $53. The reverberations—good and bad—are being felt around the world, from the oil kingdoms of the Middle East to Argentina, Russia, and here in the U.S.

The downturn will be the first big test of the U.S. oil-production renaissance. New technologies, such as horizontal drilling and the ability to draw oil from shale rock,...