Posted on 10/16/2014 4:04:48 PM PDT by Lorianne
The sudden slump in oil prices, which have fallen 15% in the past three months, has sent tremors through the capitals of the world’s great oil powers, many of whom could face testing budget crunches if the tendency persists.
Higher output coupled with weaker demand from China and Europe has driven the price of crude down to $85 – its lowest for four years. The US also now produces 65% more oil than it did five years ago following the boom in shale production. The rise has contributed to the global glut of crude and allowed the US to import 3.1 million fewer barrels of oil a day compared with its peak in 2005. Prices are now well below the level on which many oil exporters have based their budgets.
If prices remain weak – and many forecasters suggest they will – then from Moscow to Caracas and from Lagos to Tehran governments will start to feel the impact on macroeconomic policy.
Brent has averaged $103 since 2010 – trading mostly between $100 and $120 – so a continued period of $80 oil, or less, would have an impact across the world, and from multiple angles.
The lower price isn’t bad news for everyone. For example, India would not suffer much – commodities account for 52% of India’s imports but only 9% of its exports (paywall), and unlike Brazil, Russia or South Africa, India would reap immediate advantages from a fall in commodity prices.
(Excerpt) Read more at theguardian.com ...
Can you imagine what Lockheed-Martin’s announcement about its fusion power plans is doing to the leaders of these countries?
Vlad the Imploder
The Saudis have indicated their willingness to tolerate lower oil prices, and pump heavily. Is it part of a nasty game with the US and Russia? Is it an experiment to see what the take-out level is for US oil drillers?
With Obama in office, I’m so paranoid that I can’t just take what should be the economic gift horse of low prices at face value.
Frankly I think more of Putin than I do of Obama.
If it makes you feel better, medium term the Saudis (and other mideast oil sellers) are totally screwed.
Their new biggest best customer is a country with mafia business practices and 1.5 billion expendable people to enforce them.
The Chinese won’t kiss butt like the US and Euro have.
I used to respect Putin. Key words here are USED TO.
As for Obola, I’ve never seen him to be a person to have done anything at all to deserve respect.
IMO, the Presidency was handed to the guy on a silver platter.
He was gifted the Senate seat in Illinois. He was touted as Presidential Material when he had done nothing.
He was anointed and voted in. Then he got the Nobel Peace prize to boot, again, for not doing a single damned thing.
All he had to do was keep from falling down an breaking his neck. The media and the Left handed it to this guy.
This is truly, THE... EMPTY... SUIT.
We’ve joked about it before, but this is the guy.
I think we are in a disruptive transition phase. From what I see these things simmer for a long time then begin to gel.
I believe we are entering the mixed fuel phase of society. We will not see oil go away for a long time but it could be plentiful and competitive. Not cheap but competitive. The cost of finding and producing will probably not allow downright cheap oil.
Electricity will not be too cheap to meter either but it could be competitively priced as well.
Can you imagine what Lockheed-Martin’s announcement about its fusion power plans is doing to the leaders of these countries?
Russia/China are working overtime to steal it ,what ever IT is .
electric cars. go. go. go.
coal. coal. coal.
Yes, I was thinking almost exactly that this morning. As soon as it made its announcement yesterday, L-M became probably the foremost target of industrial espionage in the world.
They're not stupid, though. They have very good security, and will have thought that angle through before they decided to go public.
Then it occurred to me that perhaps the whole announcement was some sort of "honeypot" deal, designed precisely for the purpose of making themselves into a huge target.
Nothing like an oil glut to benefit the US party in power just before an election.
But undermining Russia (which as we all probably recall, laughed at an offer from the House of Saud to get out of Syria, where it doesn’t belong, in exchange for getting to sell the Saudis a bunch of arms), particularly in Europe where Putin sells into 42 percent of the market, is a likely goal; undermining their Iranian enemy, particularly since Iran is an ally of convenience for their Russian enemy, makes this easy to understand.
Furthermore, there’s been far too little discipline in the OPEC membership since the price of crude soared under Obama and has stayed high, even though it has come down a bit in recent weeks.
We’ll see if Iran finally triggers WWIII by trying to shut down the oil delivery route through both the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, while pushing for the overthrow of various states in western Africa, some of which are oil-rich.
I like it.
The Russian response to this (old) news is pretty predictable:
Russian Scientists Dismiss US Company’s Statement On Thermonuclear Fusion Breakthrough
Itar Tass | 10/16/2014 | Itar Tass
Posted on 10/16/2014 11:16:18 AM by goldstategop
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/3215931/posts
BTW... this is my obligatory reminder to everyone that Citgo brand gas is part of the Venezuelan national oil company. Every gallon of gas pumped from those stations helps subsidize that communist regime.
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