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"Saudi's Policy Of Downplaying Oil Prices Will Backfire On Them"
Saudi Arabia wants to use lower oil prices to pressure Russia to change its stance on Syria, to antagonize Iran, and to force US shale gas out of the market, Pepe Escobar explains the possible blowback...
RT: Russia's economy is surely being hit by the falling oil prices. But what about other oil producers like the OPEC states?
Pepe Escobar: A lot of people are being hurt. There are more or less 20 nations that need oil at least for 50 percent of their budget. Among these nations we’ll find especially a mix of African countries and Persian Gulf countries, that includes Saudi Arabia and Iraq as well, Venezuela and Ecuador. So it’s very complicated, it’s not only to hurt Russia...
RT: Saudi Arabia is one of the OPEC members and it is supposed to collaborate its oil price policy with other members. Why it is acting like this?
PE: OPEC is not a moralistic organization. There has been a lot of speculation about what Saudi Arabia has been doing. In fact, their strategy is still faulty – they want lower oil prices to pressure Russia vis-à-vis Syria, change their stance vis-à-vis Damascus and they want to more or less price shale gas from the US out of the market, and also pressure Iran vis-à-vis what’s going on in the Middle East, the famous Saudi-Iranian antagonism. This is not going to work in the long run because even Saudi Arabia will be in trouble if we have a barrel of oil like it was projected for the first quarter of 2015 between $70 and $80, now it’s a round $86-87. So they will be in trouble as well, their strategy in the long run is going to backfire.
RT: So, how long are these major oil exporting countries going to follow this strategy? When will they think of their own economic interests?
PE: When we look at the breakeven for most of these countries in terms of their state budget - how much they need a barrel of oil to cost if they can more or less even their expenses? When we look at the latest table - which is a composite of indexes from the Economist, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Reuters - Venezuela and Ecuador need oil at $120 a barrel, they are going to be in a deep trouble. Iraq, for instance, needs around $106-116 – they are in trouble. The problem with Iran is that we don’t have very exact figures.
According to these indicators, Iran will need a barrel of oil between $130 and $140. That’s too much because oil is less than 20 percent of Iran’s revenues, so it’s not essential for them. Gas is much more important. In terms of Russia, we know how Russia may [be] hurt because for the State Budget of Russia for 2015 it’s around $100 a barrel. So if we have next year, according to the best projecting so far, between $70 and $80 and maybe even going down to $65-70 in the next few years, all of these countries are going to suffer. But the market is very volatile. In one year from now we could be talking about a completely different situation if we have more demands, especially from China, from the US, from Europe, supposing there is some sort of economic realignment in Europe. So this could change not just in a matter of not only days and weeks or years but very fast.
RT: Why aren't the OPEC-states reducing the production volumes, like they normally do when prices drop?
PE: There are a lot of back-door consultations among OPEC members at the moment. Sooner or later we can expect less oil in the market, so the prices will go up. Especially, I would say from Venezuela, Ecuador… Iran - they need the revenue, so at the moment they are just starting the market flows. Obviously they have very good customers in Asia, even if they are buying less like China, they still buy Iranian oil. We have to see the US point of view, in fact, because the US doesn’t want very low oil prices to price their shale gas exploration out of the market. So there are going to be counter-moves by many OPEC and non-OPEC players as well.
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Hard to believe the house of saud doesn't know what they're doing...... russian roulette with 5 of 6 chambers loaded...... should be fun.....
/sarc
Well what will you take for the oil? ... Weimar Marks?... Sheist Dollar? ... Monopoly money?
Or the Colombian way, plato o plomo... The House of Saud doesn't want Vlad mad at them...
>>The House of Saud doesn't want Vlad mad at them...
Saudis couldnt care less about Vlad being mad or not. They just want him to stop doing what he is doing....and he will.
Vlad needs to focus on one thing, rebuilding CCCP and spend less time trying to piss on Obama's boots. As fun as it is, it's not the real objective (get some serious buffer real-estate around Mother Russia and to punk Europe)
Russia could give two shits about Saudi Arabia.
SA could go poof over night
Downplaying?
You keep using that word but I don't think you know what it means.
Russia could make sure that a bomb puts a big mushroom cloud over Ghawar (or Mecca). That poof will send oil to $200 overnight and Putin could have pre-invested in commodity (oil and gas) futures to make squillions for the Russian bottom line.
The Russians have already lived through economically tough times (the 1990s) and can survive on sub $80 oil but the Saudis are wholly dependant on the oil revenues to keep their FSA (nearly all the natives) contented. I see a revolution in Saudi Arabia stopping the House of Saud long before the Russians turn on Putin.
Putin probably doesn't think very highly of Saudi Arabia already, since they admitted that they control the Chechen terrorists.
I take it from the title of the article that the artificially controlled price of oil is presumed? If so, is this an admission that SA is manipulating oil outside of their cozy OPEC cartel?
I think it is interesting that no one believes in peak oil any more but everyone talks about $80 - $90 dollar a barrel oil as cheap. Rapping on you skull shouting HELLO!
Human organs!
.....lots of walking organ donors in DC these days
Ewwwww gross! We would, without hesitation, take the plunge into the next world before accepting a Reid kidney.
Boehner's liver could be use for research to obtain a cure for cirrhosis....
Or his melatonin for a search into orange....
Or his lungs for research on the effect of chronic spray tan inhalation. Hint, it seems to affect your judgement.
I suspect that the House of Saud correctly sees their dollar holdings as a way to "hold their breath" while Russia can't.
There is not much else use for Saudi Reserves. Every nephew already has a different color Lambo for each day of the week and they cant buy nukes...this is what they saved for.
I had the same line of thought but with a twist. BTW, love the name Pepe, who wouldn't listen to a guy with that name! LOL.
OK, 2nd glass of wine so bear with me. What if this is a "hail mary" pass by the U.S.? The Saudis sell their oil for US dollars. Well guess what, old uncle sam can create those at will. If they give the saudis whatever they need to make up the difference in order to keep peace at home, who would be the wiser? Shit, we just found out a few years back that they printed up 16 trillion during the 08 crisis so how would that be a problem to support the saudi domestic population? So the Saudis are not actually cutting their throat but reducing oil production. Also, what if GWAR is actually running out and the US knows this? It would be the last chance for the US to use the saudis as a pawn to do their bidding. Last I heard, they were getting a 50% water cut out of GWAR and most fields collapse after 80%, or so I understand. Maybe the Russians also know this which is why they gave the Saudis the middle finger when they approached them last year to negotiate Syria?
Back in the US we have a rapidly stalling economy but apparently a robust infrastructure to keep asset prices supported (PPT, etc). What if they can keep that supported ( so derivatives don't blow up) through a "supposed" withdrawal of QE while letting the overall economy sink lower into the abyss? We have lower oil demand, at least from the US side. We've seen the dollar strengthen around 6% so far indicating a deflationary surge. What if that is what is intended? What happens around the world to the various countries, especially EU, China and Russia in that scenario? Certainly lower Oil demand. I'd say oil demand craters along with income/economies. The dollar continues to strengthen, at least in theory. Now what happens?
With the dollar gaining rapid strength there are going to be lots of issues with balance of trade and currency valuations around the world. Can anyone here imagine the breakup of the EU under these conditions? How about China having issues in their country with a rapid loss of exports? There are too many moving parts for someone like myself to figure out but I simply put forth this "what if" in the event it makes sense from the standpoint of the last man standing gambit? I'd say this has the feel of the "end game" and is intentional, but I think it could take several months to play out. I'm still of the opinion we are looking at next summer, early fall for the actual crisis but this is sure spooky shit. Back to my Cabernet, thanks for listening!
And if they run out, the Fed will just lend them as much as they need, at @ 0%.
Wouldn't it be a shame if their Shia minority started agitating and blowing up oil fields?
Two can play at the rebel game.
Nearly all the Saudi dollar holdings are invested in stocks and bonds, or deposited with the TBTF banks.
So what happens to those dollars of theirs when the markets sieze up and the counterparties don't pay back those dollars? What with oil in that situation dropping to under $20 (no buyers) and the Saudis needing tens of billions every month to cover their largesse to keep the natives content then they are fucked. Could get even worse if all their dollars turn into the 2015 Zimbucks equivalent and Uncle Sugar no longer has the ability to protect the House of Saud.
The age of oil is ending.
The end of Shallow, Easy Oil is over.
Now it's the era of Deep, Hard Oil. We're drilling where the drilling is hard and resource-intensive.
Think EROEI - you can't print or manipulate that.
In the meantime, you got a planet of people who want that oil for their part of the Consumer pie.
Whoever is left with Precious Resources, a united People, and ABC Arms... wins. Tick, tock.
Deep, hard oil... drilling hard for it. I may be getting aroused.
the reason kuwait and oman are much less [in]expensive to produce/market product, is location, location and location!
gulf of oman [just port`the tanker and fill-er-up] directlly into the arabian sea with no transit payments or insurance`port amenities to deal with, and... regarding kuwaits geography at the port-o-call with no tigris/euphrates soil erosion and constant dredging as on the iraqi's side.
getting oil transit to port is very costly with every country demanding a pound of flesh for pipelines through various boundaries? sometime in the future the suez canal will probably become obsolete with
...faster and moar efficient larger tankers going the cape route?
jmo
The age of demand for oil is ending. Oil supply will be irrelevant.
I´m pretty sure the real break even prices for countries are much lower. And the variable production cost even lower. Still it hurts even now if you get almost 30$ less for the barrel.
Your comment is shocking.
How do you think the Saudi government take care their people?
They don't.
So, how can you explain this to us?
King Abdullah Economic City
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Abdullah_Economic_City
Sorry doctor! Did not mean to put you on the spot.... About a Puppet State!
Wtf does any of that have to do with your original question? You asked how do you think they take care of their people ( I like how people are owned in your world) , and my response is they don't. The connected get the wealth and "their people" get oppressed.
All matter of perspectives
First: Wages
Brazilian monthly wages: About $330 dollars a month. About 82% of the Brazilian professional soccer players make 2 times that. Mexico is even worse.
Saudi Arabia monthly wage: Bottom 20% makes $480 dollars a month. The next 40% makes $850 dollars a month.
Second: Foreign Holders of US Treasuries (as August, 2014):
China: $1,269 Trillion
Oil Exporters (Ecuador, Venezuela, Indonesia, Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Gabon, Libya, and Nigeria): $267 Billion Total
https://www.treasury.gov/ticdata/Publish/mfh.txt
Third: You wrote; “Take care of their people”
Do free housing and free education qualify as such? Libya used to do that.
Fourth: You wrote: “I like how people are owned in your world”
The reality sir, US has been a massive state intervention here and abroad. Let me give you an example: 1786 Shays’ Rebellion.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shays%27_Rebellion
“Exploiting and oppressing others, the engine that enriched Europe and the United States.” – Chris Hedges
Your posts tell me you're retarded
The Saudis have bigger problems... Over 50% of their population is below the age of 20 and they are all quite accustomed to the welfare state in which they live... If no one is buying oil, the sugar gets turned off and the natives get restless...
And what the "restless natives" do then will be interesting to watch, won't it?
This happened last time oil prices crashed (post Gulf War 1). The Saudis had to cut back the money they doled out to citizens. Back then they still had a lot of reserves. We are what? 20 to 25 years later? They have pumped a lot of oil and their wells are supposedly "tired." Ghawar (their motherlode field) is 65 years old or more?
Keyser
Below the age of 25 and getting poorer:
Despite possessing the largest petroleum reserves in the world, per capita income dropped from approximately $18,000 at the height of the oil boom (1981) to $7000 in 2001, according to one estimate.
As of 2013, per capita income in Saudi was "a fraction of that of smaller Persian Gulf neighbors", even less than petroleum-poor Bahrain.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Saudi_Arabia#Challenges
These are the political prices needed to cover their welfare-state systems.
Yep, their budgets are full of fat. TPTB just want to keep us used to the idea of being financially raped at the gas pump. All of a sudden SA has excess capacity with which to 'punish' Russia, after all the BS 'peak oil' articles swore their production had already topped out.
Not to sound g*y but I love Pepe Escobar. The guy is bright and also funny. He mocks and belittles the NWO vermin.
I think the Suaids are pretty desparate. Their oil reserves are dying. Ghawar is supposedly just about dead. When the oil runs out, they will all be moving to England or maybe Switzerland.
The oil is probably dying but do they have nat gas. Anyone know more?
I read a few years ago that the Saudis import some nat gas. They also flare a fair amount off as presumably it isn't always feasable to pipe gas from many of the fields.
if the prices weren't falling there would be no story
Russia has already stated that their line of economic defense via intervention is $60 per bbl... we're not there yet, but it's certainly headed in that direction... otherwise, again, there would be no story
my neighbor's half-sister makes $71 hourly on the laptop . She has been fired from work for 9 months but last month her paycheck was $17975 just working on the laptop for a few hours. look at this site... www.job-reports.com
Fuck the Sauds and their lackey Obama.
They are soon to be reminded that, well... shit happens !
Yep, Wait until a few thousand Ebola runners come down the Nile and up through the Levant.
They will have more to worry about than pissed off neighbors.
Maybe the 4,000 or so american soldiers that got sent over there will come with them.
And wait till some Superpower with ABC arms sends then some "vitamin B".
1 if by land...
Tick, tock, Wahabist scum.
Remind me to never again buy a god damn thing from Prudential!
So oil at ~$81 and silver at ~$17 is unsustainable? Yes. Yes it is.
Silly rabbit, in the Bizarro world, everything to polar-opposite to your perception of reality...
Too simplistic and speculative
Listen Toast.
I was thinking the same "THING" but I did not want to say anything for fear of insulting the author.
to burnt`toast, and bangalore[dash'd] curry...
pepe hasn't the tyme to explain the dotted'i's and crossed 't's for ya... it ain't his job, but to inform and make 'u' think?
tyler has spoken about the subjects he]a[r on ZH for years and things are culminating fast and furious. pepe just reinforces tylers guest post and commentary, period (although tyler had commented also?!?).
To understand the sh[a]el`l' game and Saudi logic I've got some links to read 4 ya...
Remember the Prohibition Years of 1920-1933, and the Repeal of Lincoln's Civil War 'Excise Tax & Federal Income Tax' to pay for the Civil?War ?:?[Alcohol Tax of 1906*], and how the 'Alcohol [1920? now who was President ?Harding from Ohio and the homestead of Rockefeller,... Wilson declined to run for a third term???] Tax was finally squashed by FDR [21st Amendment US Constitution] after Rockefeller got Ford and the American Auto Manufacturer's to switch [Fuel of the Future: Alcohol in every farmers Still] fuel from Alcohol/ Kerosene/ Ethyl*Chemurgy] over to 'standard'oil'...Gasoline/$$$Petro Engines?
http://byronkho.com/blog/?tag=john-d-rockefeller-jr
http://www.icminc.com/timeline/1906.html
http://www.environmentalhistory.org/billkovarik/about-bk/research/henry-ford-charles-kettering-and-the-fuel-of-the-future/
http://cocktails.about.com/od/history/a/prohibition.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-first_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution
So, Ethanol today is far from alcohol back then, but automobiles could run on it with no proplems if engines were modified with retro-flex fuel carburators and 'no-need-of-gov't. subsidies!
You see the people a century ago were just as worried about independence on foreign oil as they are today. But, the shocker will come when China' cracks the Thorium Nuclear Nut with heavy-water breakthroughs, those not seen since the jews sold their technology to France after WWII for an easier process to developing nuclear weapons as they did in 1916 to the British for the Balfour [Mandate] Declaration on Weizmann's 'Acetone'[symthetic /organic]!
thee's moar, but you can only fit so much knowledge in a croton with a dash of curry,...
regards
Listen EarlE,
I ran out of breath just reading that. Thx for the info.
maybe they do it for other reason and all this just fabrication
This is one regime I'm positively itching to see go down. Unlike Libya, where Qadaffi shared the oil profits of that nation with citizens, Saudi Arabia does nothing of the kind. They hoard their wealth and repress their citizens. Young people there have no jobs and no prospects. Wait a minute! Gee, that scenario sounds familiar. Young people with no jobs or prospects...where have I heard that before? Oh yeah, right here at home in the good ol' USSA!
Yep, and just imagine what happens when the spigot to the FSA is turned off come the first of the month? Walmart de facto relies on this money as well. Before the bloody civil war, the Waltons would be screaming to high heaven in Congress to get it turned back on. Slavery (and quelling the enslaved) is rather expensive. Of course, in Saudi it's down to its inevitable conclusion. Same for the other Gulf monarchies. So much money, but so much mal-investment. They should've been building massive desalinization plants and try and recapture some arable land. And also some high tech or applied engineering. Nothing! All the engineering is done by outsiders. Only connected princelings getting plum jobs, which they aren't necessarily qualified for. They will, indeed, be back to riding camels in another generation.
Like the commisioned ranks in their military,in Gulf war 1 driving to the front in their SUV's in the knowledge that they did'nt actually have to fight.
Just like the Jews take away Uncle Sam how long would they last?
Quadaffi was a saint compared to the House of Saud. He was telling everyone that the rebels were Al See Eye Aye Duh.
It is sad that the Libyan people did not get it and did not fight for him like the Syrians are fighting against ISIS/ISI(rea)L/NUSRA/See Eye Aye Duh.
Good strategy. Take a loss by dropping prices in order to force competition out. Then raise prices. Same strategy was employed by a US newspaper company many years ago. Worked like a charm. Maybe by the time the arabs raise their prices, we would be all driving electric or hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. In this stage and age we are still burning fossil fuel to move around while everything else runs on electricity. WTF?!!!
Rockefellars, that's WTF.
Who and why was David Rockefeller's favorite son whacked in that recent plane crash. It was here on ZH. The son was a doctor in Miane who flew down to have dinner with his father. The son was a doctor and it was a decent turboprop. I am sure he was no dummy and a capable pilot.
Someone wanted to make David Rockefeller's final days on earth miserable - so they got his kid.
Where do you proposed to find the nickel and lanthanum to make 500,000,000 batteries for electric cars? The prices will skyrocket then it will be the metals cartel
Nope. Batteries only supply electricity.
There are some benefits to specific battery types but frankly every chemical reaction creates a current. Any battery technology can be replaced by something based on a different technology. If one becomes too expensive it'll just be replaced by something cheaper.
http://phys.org/news/2013-06-all-solid-sulfur-based-battery-outperforms-...
Oh and notice the researchers are Chinese, though working in the US.
Nope. Batteries DO NOT supply electricity they STORE electricity and not very efficiently at that...
I personally don't give a fuck what these fucking petro economies go through they had decades to diversify
instead all most do is export terrorism or promote socialism let them fucking starve.
Yeah you can make gasoline out of coal and we have lotsa fucking coal when shit hits the fan enviromentalists
will be endangered.
This country will do nothing of the kind. We are far far too busy navel gazing with income inequality.
Besides, oil prices will be the least of anyone's concern when we issue those millions of green cards Q1 2015
Exactly what I'm talking about is when shit really hits the fan the 34 million green cards will be just the start
our Dear Leader is going to get more despotic in his last 2 years.
What I am saying is when the ebt cards don't work the SSI and SSD checks stop you what the free shit army lacks?
Guns, then the naval gazing will stop. Revolcion!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
They must beat back the competition!
http://www.wvcoal.com/Research-Development/audi-is-using-renewable-energ...
Fuck you Saudi Arabia. When Nixon eliminated the Gold standard and began the Federal Reserve petrodollar recycling, you have been played.
Think about that above statement. OPEC is a joke. WTI is another laughter.
WTI Gains for Third Day as Iran Seeks Halt to Price Drop.http://mobile.bloomberg.com/news/2014-10-20/wti-crude-gains-for-a-third-...
You, AIPC and the zionist ass clowns are the cutting edge for comedy. Make sure to tell everyone that a new gas chamber event will occur without petrodollar recycling via Federal Reserve preservation.
Stupid Zionist cunts!
The Joo's better ring up Henry Kissenger.
S.O.S
The Saudis have distribution and retail outlets to use to recapture part of their losses.
Ditto the Venezuelans. I predict a disguised ("laundering," "terrorism", etc.) retail outlet seizure against Venezuela in about 6 months.
An American, not US subject.
"It's only 'laundering' when you do it."
Kuwait also has a chain of gas stations in Europe.
ZIRP goes to Zip. Hello Federal Reserve Motherfuckers.
;)
Try backing yourself out of the corner.
Allahu Akbar
Shalom,to every chosen ones in Israhole.
When I started my oilfield product manufacturing company in 1989, West Texas crude was at $9.00 per barrel, and there was plenty of work. Why would we believe that the oil industry is exempt from the most extreme levels of political manipulation? We don't. Ironically, it will benefit as much as any other from the imminent crash of the elite bankster cartel. Just ask Dick Fuld or Bernie Madoff. I'm a big fan of your posts TeamDepends. Thanks.
If Saudi drops the price, frackers will just pay less profit sharing revenue. The big winner is the consumer. Way it was meant to be and lookout for everyone using the '10 day moving average' to cut your paycheck fast.
So OPEC could cut production and deliver market share to other countries, including the US. Or, they could compete. The US is poised to overtake SA as the world's largest oil producer. It's supply and demand.
You guys miss the point- oil is priced by future extra capacity........
Fact is there is extra capacity and oil will probably not spike long term because it is price by spare capacity!!!!!!!!!!!
We have a 3 million barrel per day spare capacity so suppilies are not tight.
It just will not go up until it goes way down...........
And then only temporarily the oil age will end someday but it will not be because of lack of oil...
The stone age ended why?????????????
Lack of stones?????
You are conflating oil reserves with their first order derivative; oil production rate.
Total oil produced is going to follow a logistic curve shape: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logistic_function
This means that the production rate will peak and start declining.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubbert_linearization
This happened in 2005 for world oil production. The reason there is slack capacity is because of demand destruction. Now we are on the declining slope of the peak, or the second half of the logistic function. Or put another way. The oil age ended in 2005, but 99.999% of people haven't realised it yet and will continue running in the wrong direction until reality erases them from the human genetic pool.
No Sheite, Sherlock.
I really believe it's demand destruction globally. Mostly
A perfect storm and accidents shape history.
Gas prices in my town jumped 20 cents a gallon today. Not sure why - RBOB, dollar, and WTI did not give that kind of action.
Russia sets the price because they have the institutional resources to start dropping Saudi's all over the world. Accident's start happening with no survivors, falls off balconies, boats sinking, private planes crashing, sub-sonic 22 upside the head and after a few days, $100/barrel on the way to $145/barrel. Messing with someones livelyhood is dangerous and stupid.
There are supposed to be fourteen very large US bases in Iraq.This isn't mentioned much in the media.Also the USA has a large commitment at Bagram airbase,Afghanistan.
I don't see the US pulling out of these areas anytime soon.History shows the opposite.
The US will not walk away from the Iraqi oil reserves.Ever.We are not being told the truth and eventually the US military will become restive over their role in this planned drama.
Not so long ago the Iranians were the boogie men in the media,and now we are cooperating with them in Iraq? ISIS came about because the locals couldn't succeed in Syria against Assad(jr.) helped by the Iranians? Really?
For years it has been an open secret that the Turks would never accept an independent,sovereign Kurdish nation on their doorstep.Now there is one.What has changed?There is a nasty smell about all of this nonsense....
Funny how people often call Russia a "huge gas station" that exports just gas, oil, vodka and AK47. Russia is hugely diversified compared to the Saudis... What do the Saudis produce? Oil and Terror... that's about it...
Ho-Hum .
Sandrunning is an art .
https://www.academia.edu/8899526/How_to_run_faster_and_why_
The why is when the enraged thirsty and starving populace wants to know why they now have to go volkewanderung to let the Bloodline survive .
http://andreswhy.blogspot.com/2009/10/ansari-gens.html
Waiting is the fortified positions in the Urals .
Europe , as usual whenit is not the aggressor , has not a clue of the storm of desperate , starving and thirsty hordes descending on it . At the moment , they still have free air .
Now , run off-planet .
Every fucking one of them supports radical islam when it suits them. Now we really don't need their fucking oil, let them eat camel assholes and fight each other. Who gives a shit. Build a 30 foot high steel fence around the whole middle east and shoot 'em when they pop over the top. Good riddance.
Obviously they have very good customers in Asia, even if they are buying less like China, they still buy Iranian oil. We have to see the US point of view, in fact, because the US doesn’t want very low oil prices to price their shale gas exploration out of the market. So there are going to be counter-moves by many OPEC and non-OPEC players as well.
Thick as Thieves! Always!!!
The House of Saud exisit as long as the USA says it does. Believe me, the Sauds' know this. Without American support and protection the House of Saud would be hard pressed to make a month.
I read somewhere, maybe RBTH or Itar where the economics minister and economic advisor to Putin suggested to change the tax system in Russia to accomodate energy companies, while it relies more on the domestic industrial production and import substitution. So investment in semiconductor development through Rostec, will be boosted by 9x in the next couple of years, while they will change the tax law regarding mineral extraction, which is the biggest factor to the oil and gas is budget, factor. There is talk of increasing gas station ownerships in Russia and their companies working abroad like Lukoil. So prices at pump may go two ways: 1) prices at pump increase to mitigate loss or (2) drop a fair bit to increase demand and consumption.
This in turn may kill various projects around the world like the electric car (again) as it is mostly fueld in development due to high costs in petrol. But this in turn will increase production of composite material development, which Russia is also a major producer in. Add in devaluation of its currency, many metal makers, and end product makers are seeing profits they havent seen in years. And this isnt just Russia either.