How the U.S. Shale Boom Is Splitting OPEC Apart

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2013/10/26/how-the-us-shale-boom-is-splitting-opec-apart.aspx ^ | October 26, 2013 | Arjun Sreekumar

[PGR88]

Saudi Arabia is not America’s friend.

[Vince Ferrer]

Due to their recent squacking, I’d guess Saidu Arabia is getting hit harder than this article implies.

[KarlInOhio]

I wonder how Venezuela is doing (other than being a few years ahead of us in having socialism destroy their economy). They relied on exporting to us because few can or will refine their high sulfur crude oil.

[Red Dog #1]

Our economy should be booming.

[hal ogen]

None of these oil-producing extortionists have any sympathy from me. Let them rot.

[puppypusher]

I would like to see the Saudi’s eat their damned oil.Now the Western oil exporting countries should return the favor and destroy the OPEC cartel nation economies.

Lets see if Allah bails them out.

[rockinqsranch]

PING for comments.

[Orangedog]

Yes, the shale boom is so brutal to the saudis...they are only getting $100 a barrel even with all that record US production. Someone is getting screwed, and it isn't the arabs.

[elpadre]

I sure do wish that with all this oil/gasoline being produced in the US they would get our prices at the pump down. The cost of operating our vehicles is way too high - at least for me and everyone I know.

[Republican Wildcat]

Yep...all of the mixed economic data that leaves it overall stagnant indicates it is economy that wants to boom...it just can’t due to Obama’s policies which damage the economy.

[Clay Moore]

So this could impact the Saudi’s mosque/terrorist training site building fund?

[SandRat]

This is good news.

[Red Dog #1]

No Obama? Canadian oil flowing to the US, two or three times more shale oil & gas, no “green energy” scams, no ham fisted healthcare frauds, maybe tax reform, less Federal regulation uncertainty, the Fed no print $80 Billion a month, interest rates not running below inflation, deficits halved,.....

[ckilmer]

Not till prices fall below $70-$80@barrel.

Right now. I’m not so sure that falling prices are advantageous to the USA. Because as long as oil prices remain high, oil production will rise really really fast—as it is now by 1 million barrels @ day per year.

That is, right now the most important thing is for the USA to become energy independent.

Once energy independence is gained, then its time to start forcing the price of oil down. That’s about 5 years out.

Actually, oil prices are set internationally. For now, rising US production and falling demand—is being met internationally by falling production and rising demand.

So energy supply and demand are roughly in balance.

[Popman]

I hope to live long enough to see the US not buy one drop of their stinking Saudi oil...

Let them eat their sand and camel dung...

Freaking retrograde bearded savages...

[jyro]

Nigeria needs to persue contracts with China

[okie01]

I wonder how Venezuela is doing (other than being a few years ahead of us in having socialism destroy their economy). They relied on exporting to us because few can or will refine their high sulfur crude oil.

Venezuela owns 100% of Citgo and has their own captive refineries in the USA (Corpus Christi, TX, Lake Charles, LA, Lemont, IL).

[MinuteGal]

I'm amazed that Obama and his evil minions haven't found a way to stifle the North American oil boom through ecology regulations, war with Canada or whatever.

He better appoint Algore as Stifle Czar real quick before the U.S. becomes (gasp) energy independent.

Leni

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks ckilmer.

...the surge in U.S. and Canadian oil production resulting from the application of new drilling technologies threatens to reduce OPEC's share of the global oil market this year to its lowest level in more than a decade... While some members may only experience a slight financial impact, others could be in big trouble... Saudi Arabia... produced nearly 10 million barrels of crude oil per day last year, making it the second-leading global producer, behind only Russia... Ali al-Naimi, Saudi Arabia's oil minister and OPEC's de facto leader, recently said that Saudi Arabia welcomes the U.S. shale oil boom because the supply increase could help stabilize the global oil market... Nigerians... expressed grave concerns about the country's falling oil exports... requires an average price of $87 a barrel to fund its import bill this year ...countries such as Nigeria and Angola desperately need high oil prices to balance their national budgets. Yet no OPEC member, not even Saudi Arabia, is immune to a sustained oil-price collapse.

P.J. O'Rourke (writing in "Automobile" magazine years ago) noted that the entire non-petroleum exports of the OPEC nations in the Middle East, combined, don't equal Finland's. I'm sure that hasn't improved with age.