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A U.S.-Saudi Move to Lower Oil Prices?
Submitted by Nick Cunningham via OilPrice.com,
Could the U.S. unleash a flood of oil from the strategic petroleum reserve that would drive down prices in order to punish Russia? While the idea has been kicked around over the last few weeks – most recently by George Soros – it has also been dismissed as not a serious option. Some say the impact of an oil sale, if it actually succeeded in lower prices, would be temporary. Saudi Arabia could cut back on production to keep oil prices at their current levels. Others decried the idea as contrary to the objective of the SPR, which has been setup to be used only in cases of emergency.
However, over at Quartz, Steve LeVine wrote an interesting article about the possibility of a coordinated response between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia that could have a much broader impact on oil markets. President Obama is, after all, meeting with the Saudi King on March 28. Ukraine is certainly going to come up in their discussions – his time in Europe was dominated by coordinating a response to Russia, despite the original intention of the trip to discuss nuclear security.
LeVine argues that it is possible that the U.S. could sustain a sale of 500,000 to 750,000 barrels of oil per day from the SPR. If the U.S. coordinated with the Saudis to ensure that they did not cut back production – indeed, they could even step up production from 9.7 million bpd – the greater supplies could slash prices almost immediately. Russia gets about 70% of its export revenue from oil and gas, so even a modest drop would be a significant blow. A former Ford and Carter administration official believes a U.S. SPR release could lower oil prices by $12 per barrel, potentially costing Russia $40 billion in lost revenue.
But by LeVine’s own account, there are few signs that such a move is in the works. Saudi officials, including Prince Turki bin al-Faisal, recently remarked about the global nature of today’s oil market, and the inefficacy of a single nation’s move to impact supply. Moreover, Saudi incentives aren’t exact in line with such a move. As one the world’s largest oil producers, Saudi Arabia would suffer from a drop in oil prices. And the fiscal breakeven price for Saudi Arabia is rather high, considering its budget necessities. Bank of America Merrill Lynch estimates the Saudis need a global oil price of $85 per barrel for its budget to breakeven. That figure has crept higher in recent years, meaning the Saudis are probably not inclined to want oil prices to decline from the $105-$110 range, where they have been for the last few months.
Not only that, but as LeVine notes, the Saudi King is convinced the U.S. is “unreliable,” and relations between the two countries hit a low point after Obama’s back and forth over air strikes on Syria last year. With Saudis increasingly frustrated with the U.S., why would they shoot themselves in the foot just to help out an unreliable partner? Now they could be interested in striking a blow against Iran, which lower oil prices would do. But, that doesn’t seem like enough of an upside.
Back in the U.S., President Obama could get an earful from oil producers if he reaches for the SPR spigot. Attempting to saturate the market with SPR oil could lower prices, but that would be pretty damaging to U.S. drillers. Their Republican allies will also oppose the move, at least they did when Obama used the SPR back in 2011 during the Libyan civil war. Republicans may have more difficulty justifying their opposition this time around, given that they have been the loudest about using American energy as a geopolitical weapon. But they will surely argue that exports are the better answer to Russia than an SPR release.
For now, Obama will probably hold the SPR card in his back pocket. Should Russia resist any further action in Ukraine, nothing will come of it. But, he is almost certainly mulling over the idea in the event that Russia takes broader action in Eastern Europe.
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Darn! Cheap gas...no money huney.
the Saudi King is convinced the U.S. is “unreliable,” and relations between the two countries hit a low point
What a polite way of saying that Barry is Mossad's Bitch.
If the House of Saud could increase output, which they haven't for years, then they could lower prices. Or if the Fed would stop their loose monetary policy.
Alas....
if i didnt know better, i'd swear this niggers trying to get us all killed....
Agenda Items:
1. Beg House of Saud not to sell oil in Renminbi.
2. There are no other agenda items.
The satrap Abdullah has just kicked Ogolfer from his desert compound. An 'intimate' dinner that had been scheduled and was on Daddy Choomwagon's agenda has now been deleted from all websites and the WH is now denying Reggie Amour's bitch was going to have dinner with the arab despot.
http://hennessysview.com/2014/03/28/king-abdullah-kicks-obama-saudia-ara...
Seems like Soros is about to unleash a bunch of Femen members on Mecca and Medina to start the uprising.
No Dinner for You.
Signals the end.
Petro-dollar.
US: We cannot stand the repeated human-rights abuse (and do not tell anyone: but we desperately need to know really how much is in that ground). Invade Saudi Arabia ASAP !!!
Saudi: We pitched US against Russia in Syria to keep them busy, we put some money in Egypt for the same reason, we sent some money to Ukraine, but still this yankees are not busy enough, those Qataris are ruining our plans. What shit can we do next, we need to convince Israel they need to strike Iran, this year, no, better next month, but not on 1st of April.
The Saudis hit peak oil a while back - haven't found any new fields in decades and the output from their existing fields is dropping. There's nothing more to pump - just the ILLUSION that there's more avaiable.
"Sustainable release" - how the fuck is the release of a static resource in ANY way "sustainable".
Russian could entirely stop their oil export for less than half a year and the US would COMPLETELY exhaust their strategic reserves, if this "sustainable" release was contnued throughout. Christ, this piece stinks of establishment propaganda.
Russian oil exports/day in 2012: 7.1mbpd.
Strategic reserves: maximum of 727million barrels - which makes exhaustion complete after around 100 days (14 weeks).
Furthermore: "the maximum total withdrawal capability from the SPR is only 4.4 million barrels (700,000 m3) per day, so it would take over 160 days to utilize the entire inventory"
You missed the part about the reserve already being empty, during slow news days they use a double negative to fluff out the time and get the desired responces so they can conspire on whom will be their next victim.
And just some side bar related thoughts.
Ukraine's raising their price of gas (retail) because Russia's going to raise, etc.
Whatchu think that Europe's gonna see the price of Ruskie gas tans-shipped thru Ukraine do?
No, not fall....
Guess again...
Take a wild guess...
Nope, higher...
Keep going...
Yeah, now you're getting close.
Yeah, 500%, sounds good.
So there's another feather in Europe's cap, courtesy of Obie & Cie.
Further, about them travel and visa restrictions.
How do Yanks get to the "International" Space Station? (Built bought and paid for by Yanks, BTW. Another Progressive fillip, "International", my ass.) Via Moscow and the launch facility, Baikonur, in Kazakhstan. Y'all think that US NASA AstroGlideNaughts, Muslim Sympathizers and Global Warming Advocates is gonns Get Visas and Rides?
Yesserie, folks, this shit's All Good!
Back in inner space the US is also dependent of Russian co-operation to remove war materiel from Afghanistan as that failed campaign winds down.
Not to mention the fact that Russia would be able to slow production and maintain world prices in the face of constant demand. I doubt Saudi has the capacity to increase their own production. The net result woul dbe increased global instabilty and significantly lowered earnings for US producers as the US already has a domestic surplus of oil.
The FUCK THE EU foreign policy of the Obama administration now requires implementation of a FUCK THE US domestic policy to save face for the Golfer-In-Chief.
All of this is due to the ill advised actions of the Obama Administration. What I do not understand is why impeachment hearings have not commenced. You deposit sprem on an intern's dress and you are out of here! On the other hand you meddle in the affairs of a foreign state, iniitate a coup that gets the neighbours riled up, move the world to the brink of WWIII, propose actions that will hurt a core American industry and totally alienate a major ally and I gues you are a shoo in for a third term.
Two Russians and an American left earth for ISS on Wednesday.
Apparently Steve Swanson wasn't on the sanction list, but then they launched from Kazakhstan, not Russia.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/russian-soyuz-craft-docks-with-space-s...
Stack On
is this another one of those articles where everyone has to learn what the word "fungible" means... again?
here comes the ZH weekend slope-headed, cross-eyed, knuckle dragging 'B' team editor brigade... sharp as a nerf ball, as usual
+ 1 for sharp as a nerf ball
Tyler, you need MOAR disposable "barf bag" ads...
He also needs one helluva lot fewer articles from oilprice.com, and personally I'm going to vote on those with my fingers which won't be clicking much whenever they appear.
BTW, a $12 decrease in the price of oil doesn't just hurt "drillers" and anger their GOP allies. IT STOPS FUCKING OIL PRODUCTION. If you don't drill because the price is $12 lower, oil doesn't fucking come out of the ground. Behold the nature of shale production. $12 lower would probably cut production by more than the SPR release.
Oh and just as an FYI, the price is about $102 now. That look like abundance?
Why is this thought of from such a nationalistic frame of view ? I see deliberate balancing of global power. One that was espoused in many subtle ways. Other things have been 'revealed' to condition, pre-release, ''cause of, you know, another time in the future.." Duty to take note of, at any rate.
With domestic oil production way up, and domestic gasoline demand way down, it looks like a shit load of chinese cost push inflation. with a little money printing sprinkled on top.
If only Putin could turn the tables and manipulate oil the same way they manipulate PM's.
In a world of fixed or increasing global energy demand, if any player seeks to increase output (via an SPR release) there is nothing to prevent another player from reducing production by the same amount and maintaining global pricing at the current level.
There is also little to prevent a player from a significant curtailment of production such that the price rises by a significant amount. The world cannot simply embargo 9 million bpd. It is the same as saying "We are all going to stop breathing just to spite Putin." Great move.
Well, there is a difference, you see.
Oil actually has a function in society.
Wealth preservation and the ability to keep aforementioned wealth outside the reach of bankers and pols seems to be pretty fuckin useful to me.
That's kind of like the autistic kid who hits himself in the head to punish Mom.
STOP HITTING YOURSELF STOP HITTING YOURSELF STOP HITTING YOURSELF
Why release the SPR? Just hammerfuck the price like gold.
We do know that the KSA and Vlad have gone at it head to head about the gas pipelines up through Syria, et al to Europe, that the KSA beggared Vlad abut the Chechnyian terrorists just before Sochi, that Vlad told the KSA to F-Off and threatened them with increasing arms, etc., to their best ever enemy of my enemy is my friend, Iran, that the Great Game is Being Played Full Tilt Boogie in the ME right now, with Repercussions Abounding with Ukraine (Again, read Gas Pipelines) so why not?
The enemy of my enemy is my friend
Yes, if only the Great Game were round ball, we'd have a contendah.
Oh yeah, then he'd have someone reliable on his team like OJ.
Oh wait... he played football.
Sorry.
But he was reliable.
Say, did they ever make any Nicole Simpson or Ron Goldman PEZ Dispensers?
Hey the Juice could run. And... he put up a reward for evidence about the real killers.
Now that's a set of cajonies. If I send him a transcript of the trial, ya think maybe?
Evidence is cumulative.
Mark Fuhrman
Are the Saudis dumb enough to pump extra oil to lower the price? Possibly.
Saudi have threatened several times to increase supply, and claimed to have done so several times, but the extra oil never seems to make it to market. Simple truth is, Saudi is in decline just like all the rest. They can't significantly increase supply for any extended period.
Russia can reduce supply though, and they, not Saudi are now the largest producers of oil.
The world is fucking swimming in oil! Every fucking cave in thr midwest is filled to the brim with the stuff. There are fleets of tankers full of the shit. The price is already manipulated.
funny how the saudi's must have tried reading 0bi1's mind, since their last meeting was almost five years ago in 2009? last i looked, saudi's were the #2 exporters of oil-- only slightly behind canada for the energy dependent ussa, at the end of 2012...
funny
.... or to pull that stunt for sudden regime change in Venezuela ...
Maduro bleeds out with every cent . 4th fleet ready to bring democracy to "our front door".
Can they balance their budget under 100usd/barrel?
lame
We'll show those damn Ruskies - we'll EAT OUR SEED CORN!
What moron uses their reserve oil when they are in the middle of escalating themselves into a war?
Fonestar and/or Bath House.
Sorry, I was pouring bourbon for Wenchley and moi. What was the question?
So the Saudies are going to backdoor light sweet, at favorable prices and production,and what is the TOTUS administration giving up.
I remember a moment in the 3rd grade when during recess this kid wanted my crayola package. It was just before recess, and he layed the wood. (bigger then I was) I thought I couldn't take him in "hand to hand" combat, so I devised a plan.
We really liked testing eachother on the carousel. I got a few heavy kids to weight the opposite side so that my arch nemesis would be ejected by {centrifugal force}.
We all ended up being ejected because the carousel <center> bearing froze...
Moral of the story is that you can never ever know the outcome. (the fed)
AKA - the first casualty of war, is the battle plan.
Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.
~Mike Tyson
It is not there to lower prices. It is there for a crisis.
Don't know if the author is aware that Obama doesn't make any decisions except on how many points he cheats on when he plays golf.
When is the US/Uk/Nato gonna bomb drone the Saudi's?
Oil goes down by $12. Russia to lose $40 billion. Russia and China crash the bond market. Interest rates skyrocket. Few people holding dollars will afford to fill up their cars.
I have read that the SPR can only be drawn down and re-filled 6 times before the salt cavern walls will be so destabilized that they won't be useful for the SPR anymore.
Does anyone know if this is accurate?
If so, it seems like we should save the SPR for what it was actually intended for and not just sell from it whenever it suits the politicos.
It seems like the price of oil never changed very much in the past when the SPR was drained, anyway. What is it? 'Only something like 7 or 8 days worth of total world oil consumption?
Well, drawing down would eliminate emergency reserves for the US Military, so I am convinced Bath House will do just that.
Or, we could build the Keystone and a nat gas pipeline on top of the Alaska,
and let the Saudis get back to molesting sheep.
Goats, actually.
I could have said pound sand, but I've been polite to people all week.
Sometimes I miss fight club. I always miss Marla's tits;)
"the Saudi King is convinced the U.S. is “unreliable,”
How could it be reliable when US is printing 65 billions dollars per month? It would need to examine the King head if he said US is reliable.
Those guys in DC forget that oil is price in dollar, because of King support.
Wow, King of the obvious.
There will no strategic release. The oil majors are bleeding, selling assets to maintain dividends. The price cannot come down. It must go up. Get used to it.
You're almost right, maybe because of your name.
There can't be a price decline because the nature of oil production has changed. Lower the price and output craters, and people start starving and killing.
It's not about money. It's about death.
Yes, but it will only rise to the price that that the economy can support, currently ~$110-120 or 85-95 EU...
Demand destruction is the only solution if the cost of the marginal barrel required to offset the decline rate of the legacy resources exceeds the price that the economy can support...
Oil is almost the perfect hedge....
THey will talk about the Release and drive the price down the same way they drive all the other markets.For fuks sake, its all smoke and mirrors anyway. They can "do oil" just like they "do the SPY", or gold, or whatever.That said, I sure would like to see just one of them "do time" before I die.
Nice plan but could backfire. Suppose the Russians learned something from all those Orange revolutions and riots suddenly break out in SA. There is a lot of dissatisfaction with the present system of government there too.
"Could the U.S. unleash a flood of oil from the strategic petroleum reserve that would drive down prices in order to punish Russia?"
Why so dramatic? Just stop the printers or swicht the tag of oil to Gold. You would see at least a dramatic drop of oil price.
This is how Reagan crushed Russian nuts the last go round.
It will work again.
You think the Russians haven't learned their lesson the last time? Three possibilities:
1) They can destabilize SA royal family and overthrow the government turning SA into a complete mess.
2) They have made a deal with SA or threatened SA in a very no nonsense manner. There was a rumor about this during the Sochi games.
2) They don't give a fuck and are intent on tearing the West a new asshole, in which case their only use for their oil is to fuel their tanks.
But no matter how you see it the oil price game is too easy to miss since it has been done before. Obongo is about to fuck up again.
You do realize that Alaskan oil just happened to arrive in significant volume while Reagan was president? Had it arrived a few years earlier, Carter might have won the election.
Reagan also got credit for the freed hostages in Iran. What is not widely known, is the fact that Paul Volcker (Carter nomonated him FRB Chairman Aug/1979) raised interest rates six months before the Nov.4, 1980 elections.
The money-power broker bosses decide the winner, and Volcker sealed Carter's fate!
They all sucked! Period!!! An old joke by Gore Vidal regarding Reagan, as the 'Acting President?'
You don't remember the "economic malaise" comment do you?
Not certain, but probably would work again. Sadly, Obama is no Reagan, & he is unlikely to release reserves, & even if he did, Saudis hate him, & would not wish to aggravate Putin without significant benefit. Reagan used Saudi cooperation for years to pummel Soviets, Obama lacks such drive.
The biggest problem is the 99sheeps dont thrust OGolfer or the 1% of zio-jews banksters anymore. Whose faults? They fuck everyone in all these years.
What do you get when you crush Russian nuts? ... Rooskibutter, Bitchez.
This notion that tapping the SPR somehow punishes Putin has got to be one of the lamest bluffs ever floated. If this is the best we've got, we're in pretty deep trouble.
I've already seen many excellent points made upthread, so I will simply append one more here of my own. Selling off the SPR would not even lower the price of oil as claimed, not only because it would cause marginal production to crater and/or induce cutbacks by other producers (both of which have been mentioned), but because the world economy is supply-constrained, thirsty for oil, and would not be shy about taking more supply even at the current price. Everybody is already pumping oil as fast as they reasonably can without damaging the rock strata. There is no production capacity in reserve.
Besides, what are we suppsed to do when it comes time to refill the Reserve? Are we ready for $5.00 gasoline? Bought from Russia?
Our best hope of ending this thing peaceably comes from the chance that Putin just might pity our ineptitude.
You should probably move your decimal point right a couple of digits.
Because there was no dinner for Obama.
Petro dollar has been kicked out of the Bedouin tent.
Stack On
Currently 2220 mg Au/bbl crude.
Oligopoly is unstable. Who could have predicted that the USA would join OPEC? We can make the OPEC oligopoly even MORE unstable!!!
Dumping your strategic reserves of oil is the stupidest possible move. It's a sure thing. He'll definitely do this.
Spungo,
THe Dumping "Talk" combined with market rigging will have the same effect.
"The Talk" will be the cover for blatent rigging of the oil price. HELLO!.....same shit, different crisis. Rinse and repeat.
Anyone who thinks he knows what's going on in the Middle East is wrong.
Iran would significantly be adversely effected! Not good for Rouhani and their inflation crises now abating?!?
Russia would definitely ink moar nuclear-power plant projects in Iran... but, Iraq, Bulgaria, and the Blatic States are already on board. Poland, perhaps also?
The French would love getting in, but if Russia becomes economically viable with a no-bid contract... a prerequisite, and preconditioned clause for unnecessary cost overruns (cost plus scrapped, if and only revisions become denialble?) -- I see a win-win for Ruusia, with the ruble being depressed.
W?e all know the real money is made in future revisions ie, cost plus???
jmo
This article is naive. Russia would just hedge their forward oil production.
Maybeso, but useful. Makin markets here
More like absurd. Absurd doesn't really describe it though. How about Krugman absurd. That's a little better.
this is great news saudi and usa usa can do this.
at the same time saudi special forces and seal team 6 should be deployed into the crimean theatre along with the remnants of the blackwater teams extracted from syria via turkey i think we can take crimea in 10 days.
the poor folks in that town would throw flowers at are feet.
saudi arabia and team usa make a great
you get my drift
Watch'em smack oil down.... Just like gold except the oil won't stay down long, "the machine" needs the oil money too. The winner might be $natgas for a while... maybe even coal.
Is Saudi a full member of the BIS? That is the question.
Saudi, you wouldn't want the G10 excluding you, after all they do the bidding. Then, why did they exclude you from the white man's club?
pm me for further info.
Ron Jeremy had to learn these lines. I guess every actor is the same:
Ron walks down stairs in some non description modern house in San Fernando.
Random girl : "Hey Harry, what's ya doin sneakin around?"
Harry (Ron): "Hey Sarah, baby"
Sarah: "Don't you Sarah baby me!"
Sarah: "Hey, don't you owe me 10 bucks?"
Ron: "Didn't I pay that back last week?"
Sarah (mimicking): "Didn't I pay that back last week. Hey Harry, you never change"
Harry: "There was a time, Sarah, when you didn't want me to change!"
Producer: (Cut to shot of Ron whacking his staff against Sarah's frontal entourage).
Sorry , this is the short version. I can't exactly remember every line...you know, Friday night and all that. Although, me and my friends know this sketch my heart. (Why? I don't know). Just for the laugh.
ask the fuckin NSA for the tape! they'll know!
You'll never see cheap Oil prices let alone gas prices ever again and wait till the price of Natural Gas starts sky rocketing here as well as Propane.
Obama still must think that oil prices are set by the supply-and-demand for oil.... Ha! That hasn't been true for years. Oil prices are controlled by the supply-and-demand of cheap money supplied by US government to speculating 'banks'. No matter what Obama does, we will see $4.00+ gas by Memorial Day.
Yup, sell all our reserves. That'll show the Ruskies who's boss. Vlad will be crawling on his knees to beg for our forgiveness...
NOT!
The SPR contains about two months of reserves, which is a well-known fact. So all Vlad has to do is sit still and pretend to wimper as the world-wide oil price starts to head toward 80 or so. Then, six weeks after the taps open, he stands up, buttons his jacket, steps to the microphone, clears his throat, and says one word: SELL! He means US treasuries. And he opens the Russian Central Bank vaults and sells with both hands, destroying the price, driving up interest rates. A few time zones to the east, another leader, Xi Jinping, makes the same announcement, ordering the sale of all US treasuries held in Beijing. As the red ink begins to drown everyone on Wall Street and in the City of London, the two leaders announce jointly that they have been buying thousands of tons of gold over the past decade, and that Russian oil will now be priced in gold. Period. The Iranians also announce that their oil is now priced in gold, and, in a surprizing move, Saudi Arabia announces that they, too, will accept gold for oil.
The next morning, as the sun rises on the smoldering ruins of the US economy, another "leader" is on his knees, except for a very different reason... Vlad just smiles and steps forward, reaching for the jug-ears of his new toy...
Are you listening Texas and North Dakota?
Two things.
Saudi Arabia is no longer the swing supplier it used to be and most of its production is heavy sour crude rather than the light sweet crude required by Western refineries. Any intervention on the supply side by Saudi Arabia would only have a temporary effect if any at all.
The price of oil is tied to an ocean of derivatives. If the price declines on a long term basis, there will be significant and cascading resets of some Trillion Dollar instruments.
So, a lowering of the price of crude is a strategy that is neither attainable by Saudi nor is it desirable from the point of view of the major TBTF banks.
...the Saudis need at least $85 a barrel to support their social programs (ie buying loyalty of Citizens)...that was 2 years ago. Price is probably closer to a hundred now.
Also, the Saudis are incredibly pissed off with Obama. Everyone in Saudi pretty much hates his guts. They must have shut down Riyadh to bring him in. The King is taking him pillar to post over Syria. (Probably wanted to take him to Chop Chop square!)
Iraqis are also increasing production....they need the money so no stopping them. Russians are pumping and building in Iraq like no tomorrow.
Iran is secretly bringing in smart oil and gas guys in anticpation of the sanctions coming off (what nuclear bomb?)
Saudis need money to buy paki nukes!
The US is in a world of rapidly dimmenshing options.
The real question is how much tax can they siphon from the middle class and how much money can they print before the American welfare state and global empire collapses?
Let's see here ... per barrel cost to find and lift oil
Saudi Arabia: < $10
Russia: ca. $12
Rest of World on average: ca. $25
US onshore: ca $31
US offshore: ca $52
Yeah, sounds like a viable long-term strategy to me /sarc
How about having 0bamao take his jackboot off the neck of the domestic oil and gas industry so we can use our own and screw the Saudis?
How about having 0bamao take his jackboot off the neck of the domestic oil and gas industry so we can use our own and screw the Saudis?
Marginal barrels of production cost a helluva more than that even in SA and RU...
In other words, your numbers are nonsense or from so long ago as to be completely irrelevant...
"why would they shoot themselves in the foot just to help out an unreliable partner?"
The answer is quite simple: because the al-sauds are bitches who will follow whatever foreign powers order them to do even if it is against the self interest of Saudi Arabia. A lot of Western commentators make the mistake that the Saudis wield some great influence over the US because of their oil, but that is very far from the truth. Saudi Arabia has a shitty military that can't withstand even small insurgencies, all their military equipments are deficient by design (western powers don't really sell them with full parts), and they have antagonized most of their neighbors too. The only influence Saudi Arabia has is on small Arab and Muslim governments that need their cash, but even then they fail (look at Lebanon for example). The Al-Sauds are best thought of as a Mafia more than anything, that is exactly their mentality. The are not statesmen. As a result, the country is in a shitty situation: largely lacking in skills and a serious education, no military to speak of (except to quell protests of course), and almost 0 influence.
The reason why you hear the narrative that the Al-Sauds have any influence is just to grease the Al-Sauds: they really like hearing it and it is enough to sway them on any deal. However, as the recent deal with Iran has shown, when it comes to reality, Saudi Arabia hasn't got shit.
This might afffect prices by a few cents for a week. Then what? Might it be more strategic to begin offering new pemits to drill offshore, and speed up the process of permitting new natural gas terminals to be built together with dropping export restrictions? Yeah, these are long term measures but Russia will understand what they will mean long term.
Why Saudi Stability Is A Myth -
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/feb/28/babbin-the-coming-turmoi...
The Saudi's are concerned about the Queen's reliability? HAHAHA
King Abdullah (90) has been spending lavishly on social programs to keep the populace quiet.
Saudis cannot afford to end their welfare state because they are afraid of their own people.
The Queen's welfare state (U.S.A.) is in more trouble.
Who has the largest welfare state in the world? Because they are the weakest link in the chain. Especially if their population has the right to own AR-15's.
Obama cries that Uganda and Russia have laws not favoring gays. How are gay rights in Saudi Arabia, President Hypocrite.