OPEC : OPEC Share of World Crude Oil Reserves(probably shouldn't use these OPEC numbers as the only source; also not a bad idea to compare these figures with populations, to see the disparity in per capita income)
Posted on 10/26/2013 7:46:56 PM PDT by ckilmer
For decades, OPEC nations have, for the most part, enjoyed a good living. As long as oil prices remain high, they can recover billions of barrels of oil at relatively low cost and sell it to the rest of the oil-thirsty world.
But the North American shale oil boom is shaking things up for the cartel. In fact, 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.
Does that imply gloom and doom for all OPEC countries? Hardly. That's because the impact of the North American energy boom isn't spread evenly among the group. While some members may only experience a slight financial impact, others could be in big trouble. Let's take a closer look.
A tale of two OPEC members To explore this growing divide within OPEC, perhaps no two member countries offer examples as polarized as Saudi Arabia and Nigeria.
The kingdom is clearly the top dog; it produced nearly 10 million barrels of crude oil per day last year, making it the second-leading global producer, behind only Russia. Indeed, 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.
But the Nigerians aren't so upbeat. And rightfully so. At a conference in the nation's capital city of Abuja earlier this year, officials expressed grave concerns about the country's falling oil exports. "Shale oil and the increase in their gas production is already affecting our exports to the United States," said Diezani Alison-Madueke, the nation's oil minister.
Indeed, Nigerian crude oil exports to the U.S. have plunged by about 50% since July 2010, displaced by oil of a similar quality gushing from U.S. shale plays such as North Dakota's Bakken, where companies continue to report staggering growth in production.
Kodiak Oil & Gas (NYSE: KOG ) , an oil and gas junior with operations focused almost exclusively in the Bakken, said its oil production grew by 250% last year, while Northern Oil & Gas (NYSEMKT: NOG ) and and Halcon Resources (NYSE: HK ) , two other Bakken-focused operators, saw output grow by 93.4% and 173.2%, respectively.
As a result of this surge in U.S. oil production, several refiners have virtually eliminated foreign imports of Nigerian light oil. For instance, Valero (NYSE: VLO ) has replaced all light oil imports with domestically produced oil at its Gulf Coast and Memphis refineries, while Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX ) recently said it expects to process 100% North American crudes at its refineries nationwide within "a couple of years."
OPEC's varying production costs But that's not all. Not only is Nigeria at risk because of plummeting crude exports, but it's also not nearly as well equipped as Saudi Arabia to handle lower oil prices. That's because breakeven costs of oil production vary widely within the cartel, with some countries able to get by with much lower oil prices than others.
According to estimates by PFC Energy, a Washington-based energy research and consulting firm, Nigeria requires an average price of $87 a barrel to fund its import bill this year, while Saudi Arabia needs to fetch just under $70 a barrel to make ends meet.
Given that oil and gas exports account for roughly 80% of Nigeria's government revenues and more than 90% of foreign exchange earnings, that leaves Nigeria extremely vulnerable to a sharp and sustained decline in global crude oil prices. In fact, the IMF recently noted that if oil prices fall to between $80 and $85 per barrel (as an annual average), it would wipe out Nigeria's Excess Crude Account balances within a year.
But that's not to say the Saudis wouldn't be hurt from a sustained decline in oil prices, either. While they're less vulnerable because of lower breakeven costs, their petroleum sector still accounts for roughly 80% of budget revenues, 45% of GDP, and 90% of export earnings. Indeed, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, chairman of Kingdom Holdings and nephew of King Abdullah, has warned that excessive reliance on oil revenues makes the kingdom particularly vulnerable to oil price shocks.
"If the price of oil was to decline to US$78 a barrel there will be a gap in our budget, and we will either have to borrow or tap our reserves," he said. "Saudi Arabia has SAR2.5 trillion in external reserves, and unfortunately, the return on this is 1 to 1.5 percent. We are still a nation that depends on the oil and this is wrong and dangerous."
The bottom line The U.S. shale revolution is exacerbating an existing divide between OPEC member countries. While Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states have the financial resources to cope with lower oil prices, 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.
OPEC : OPEC Share of World Crude Oil Reserves(probably shouldn't use these OPEC numbers as the only source; also not a bad idea to compare these figures with populations, to see the disparity in per capita income)
oil independence is about 5 years off.
It is in Texas.
Fracking is expensive. Currently it cost 70 to 90 dollars a barrel to produce. Increase production will lower the cost substantially.
Now we know why Saudi wanted Syria to escalate. The price of oil would have skyrocketed.
SA can always fall back on their Whabbist exports....
No, what's dangerous is the jihadi 7th century barbarians in your dirthole of a country, #ss##l#. Perhaps if after 4000 years you'd moved beyond wiping your backside bare handed and stopped exporting terrorism, I might give a #### about your plight and well being.
But, since that isn't the case, it looks like for you there's only oil for dinner; good news is there's plenty of it.
.. and let's deal with our domestic enemies as well as foreign enemies.
I think it can be argued that "green energy" as a replacement for oil is a devastatingly wasteful daydream; we must "drill now!" to stop the Western world and friends' dependence upon the Middle East;
and all the aging 1960s Marxist-Alinsky campus radical, psycho spoiled brats and their ideological issue, hate-America pukes in the Administration, academia, MSM, entertainment, et al -- arguably the Establishment -- can all go to hell; voluntarily or we'll send them there.
It's our turn to "Bring it all down, man!"
F’*! OPEC and the oil tankers they rode in on.
“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.”
Right you are.
Saudi oil sheikhs are one thing, but the world was for certain not ready for Nigerian oil barons.
Problem solved.
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.
As I understand it, the EPA and the Interior department HAVE been trying their damnest to stifle the Oil shale boom and fracking in general.
Their a bit stymied though in that most of the surface land and mineral rights being used by the oil rigs is PRIVATELY owned and not Government owned as is the case in most of the west.
But give them time, I’m sure they’ll find a good reason to use Eminent Domain to steal it.
Pray tell, why are we cutting back more on purchases of Nigerian oil than Saudi oil? I’m inclined to tell them, “A plague on both your houses.”
LOL, you should see how the Chinese treated the workers, when they opened a mine in Zambia. It gave a new meaning to the term “neo-colonialsim.”
I don’t see Indonesia on the chart. Did they run out of oil?
Once again, despite the government, the private sector does more harm to our enemies than those who have sworn to defend us and the Constitution...
“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.”
The price of gasoline has been dropping even as oil was above $100/barrel. The cost is too high for every consumer. Place the blame with our wonderful government which is doing everything they can to derail cheaper energy
I’m just an old fashioned guy and remember the days when the higher the yield of my crop, the lower price I received. No they were not subsidy crops. I
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