Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

OPEC’s Weapon of Mass Inaction
Wall Street Journal ^ | Nov. 27, 2014 | LIAM DENNING

Posted on 11/30/2014 2:18:04 PM PST by thackney

click here to read article


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-29 next last

1 posted on 11/30/2014 2:18:04 PM PST by thackney
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

Comment #2 Removed by Moderator

To: thackney
The Performance Racing Industry convention/show is here in town this week.

Maybe I need to order one of these


3 posted on 11/30/2014 2:20:50 PM PST by nascarnation (Impeach, Convict, Deport)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: nascarnation

I’m frustrated the price of my future F250 is likely going to climb.


4 posted on 11/30/2014 2:22:44 PM PST by thackney (life is fragile, handle with prayer.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: thackney

OPEC(Saudi) policy on the oil price is playing hell with Iran’s economy and with Russia.


5 posted on 11/30/2014 2:23:47 PM PST by arthurus
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: thackney

A declining oil price is highly damaging to Iran and to Russia among the majors. It is beneficial to the American economy though not to the oil companies. It is not bad that Venezuela is hurting. The decline also affects the black market price for ISIS oil.


6 posted on 11/30/2014 2:26:31 PM PST by arthurus
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: arthurus

The decline also affects the black market price for ISIS oil.

DING DING DING !!!!!

Saudis have reasons better than shale to let prices fallhttp://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3225105/posts


7 posted on 11/30/2014 2:29:06 PM PST by thackney (life is fragile, handle with prayer.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: All

OPEC Production of Crude Oil by country
http://www.eia.gov/cfapps/ipdbproject/iedindex3.cfm?tid=50&pid=57&aid=1&cid=CG9,&syid=2010&eyid=2014&freq=Q&unit=TBPD


8 posted on 11/30/2014 2:31:49 PM PST by thackney (life is fragile, handle with prayer.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: thackney

A few years ago, I was hoping for some fracking projects to get started in my area. The local revenue snagging banditos wanted to take too much, though. A company wanted to start exploring for uranium again, too, but the locals wouldn’t allow that at all. They didn’t want more working class trash moving up here, but they spread false stories about water being poisoned with uranium particles and the like instead of speaking their minds. Their real problem was their assumption that “property values would go down,” even though real estate is dead for the long run with or without energy production. Nuts. Both sides in politics are nuts.


9 posted on 11/30/2014 2:32:27 PM PST by familyop (We Baby Boomers are croaking in an avalanche of corruption smelled around the planet.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: thackney

On oil prices, those relying too much on debt or funny investment schemes will be some of the losers.


10 posted on 11/30/2014 2:38:06 PM PST by familyop (We Baby Boomers are croaking in an avalanche of corruption smelled around the planet.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

Donate here!


✓ FReepathon begins October, 1, 2014
✓ Happy Halloween! October, 31, 2014
✓ Happy Thanksgiving! November, 27, 2014
✓ Season's Greetings! November, 28, 2014
✓ FReepathon is still on! November, 30, 2014
__ Please donate today.
Tomorrow is December 1, 2014
We're going to need a big push to
wrap this up. Let's git 'er done.

11 posted on 11/30/2014 2:45:54 PM PST by RedMDer (I don't listen to Liars but when I do I know it's Barack Obama.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: AdmSmith; AnonymousConservative; Berosus; bigheadfred; Bockscar; cardinal4; ColdOne; ...
Saudi Arabia, the de facto leader... also appears to have woken up to the fact that OPEC has once again lost its grip on prices.
Yeah, right, that's why OPEC managed to engineer a price rise to $100+ / bbl. The reason the supply went up is US and Canadian production increases over the past ten years or so, in the face of a recent economic slowdown -- the Obama Recession, to go with the Obama Tax Hikes -- in the US.

Japan's economy just tanked, odd timing there, eh? Japan imports 99% of its petroleum, petroleum prices fall, the Yen tanks? Japan's export economy has been getting body blows for 20 years, first by the so-called Asian Tigers and now by China. The current situation though is the result of that years-long rise in oil prices.
Saudi Arabia’s chief antagonist is fellow OPEC member, and main geopolitical rival, Iran. Lower oil prices squeeze Iran’s finances and capacity to oppose Riyadh’s aims...
Number one, no, they don't, Iran's managed to become the leader in worldwide jihad; and number two, Zero/Lurch/Plugs/Jarrett have ensured that Iranian sanctions have been eased, and Iran gets $700 million a MONTH while stalling for time on its nuclear weapons plans.
...lower oil prices also hurt non-member Russia, another antagonist. The ruble fell another 2.5% against the dollar today.
Way to bury the lead. EU and US sanctions against Pooty-Poot over his current aggression (in Ukraine) and threats (Moldova, Poland, the Baltic republics, Scandinavia, NATO) started to bite, but the cratering of world crude prices are financial vivisectioning.
Saudi Arabia must simply try to reassert its primacy in the market. For much of the past decade, OPEC seemed to be in the driving seat. In reality, high prices, particularly in recent years, partly reflected OPEC’s inability to ensure adequate supply in the face of strong demand from emerging markets such as China.
Venezuela's aligned with Iran, and is a major supplier to the US market. Venezuela's sales to the US fell from 25m barrels to 24m from April to September, while Canada's (our largest single foreign source) rose from 95m to 106m in the same period. Russia's exports to the US fell from 12m to 7.8m; OTOH the UK's fell from 5m to 1.7m, with more of it staying in the EU. Saudi exports dropped from 48m to 30m, but only 23 million people live in the whole country. Similarly, Kuwait's dropped from 10m to 7m, but its population is a bit north of 7 million, 98 percent urban, and better educated than any Middle East country other than Israel and perhaps Dubai.
Saudi Arabia must instead try to maintain its own credibility...
The writer of this should work on that too.
12 posted on 11/30/2014 2:50:36 PM PST by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/_______________________Celebrate the Polls, Ignore the Trolls)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | View Replies]

To: thackney

/bingo


13 posted on 11/30/2014 2:52:28 PM PST by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/_______________________Celebrate the Polls, Ignore the Trolls)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: SunkenCiv

Any chance this is a quid pro quo? The US helps the Saudis contain ISIS and the Saudis stick it to the Russians in Ukraine and Crimea?


14 posted on 11/30/2014 3:03:15 PM PST by EQAndyBuzz (You can't spell liberal without label.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: nascarnation

That thing costs about $15K!


15 posted on 11/30/2014 3:28:26 PM PST by Steely Tom (Thank you for self-censoring.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: EQAndyBuzz

Like any two countries, the Saudis and the US have some parallel interests, and while Russia’s production (which in 2012 was surpassed by the US’) remains high, it has barely budged; increased production comes from less domestic consumption in a country where virtually everything is supported by petroleum and natural gas exports (and methane production and reserves are much higher than say ten years ago, with a lower price to go with it).

This 25% cratering of crude prices (and that’s just so far) over the past handful of months will take a bone saw to the NeoSoviet cash flow, as well as boost the EU economy and make it — and not the phony-baloney imperialist economic ‘community’ Pooty-Poot wants to impose on Eurasia — much more attractive and prosperous.

For ten years and more, OPEC has been de facto pricing in Euros, in order to keep crude price-stable in Europe (other than in periods of longterm increase), blissfully unconcerned about what the price fluctuations have been doing to the US economy. That has been of benefit to the NeoSoviet empire, as well as to the development of fields in the former (and Islamic) Central Asian SSRs, which pipe their oil to the EU and other markets via Russian territory.

Meanwhile, China has been experiencing a slowdown due to the stagnation of their export surplus with the US and inability to supply their own markets, while simultaneously having to import the needed crude at the posh prices of recent years. BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) is crumbling. Venezuela (another ally of Iran) has been getting a battery acid enema from the huge drop in crude prices (Venezuelan exports to the US have barely fallen, but that small drop will also leave a mark).

Egypt’s economy is and has been under attack by jihadists ever since Iran’s client, Morsi, was removed. Iran’s attempted takeover of Libya has been under air attack by Egypt and the UAE. Jihadists blew up a pipeline which formerly ran to Jordan, and now there’s a plan to sell Israeli natural gas into the Egyptian market. Lower crude prices will actually help Egypt overall.

Jordan’s situation is shaky; so is Turkey’s; so for that matter is the now-expendible Assad; ISIS/ISIL’s demise is greatly exaggerated, but it will manage to pull a few more polities into a common grave before it’s done.


16 posted on 11/30/2014 3:35:31 PM PST by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/_______________________Celebrate the Polls, Ignore the Trolls)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: thackney

“The other significant loser here may be OPEC itself....”

As in virtually all oil contracts in which the host country takes the lion’s share of oil production, falling prices always mean that those countries take the lion’s share of the hit of revenue when prices plunge.

Translation: oil companies are more downside-protected in international oil activities compared to US projects. The majors will much more aggressively go after those venues.

Means that OPEC is not really a loser here as more money will be attracted to their oil projects, although their overall revenue will decline.

So winners are consumers and third world countries possessing lots of oil.

Losers are those domestic companies who exploit US only oil.


17 posted on 11/30/2014 4:01:00 PM PST by bestintxas (Every time a RINO is defeated a Founding Father gets his wings.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 2 | View Replies]

To: nascarnation

You need a 454 with three 4 barrels. ;-)


18 posted on 11/30/2014 4:14:18 PM PST by quegley (Pitchforks and torches! Tar and feathers! Time to take the country back!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 3 | View Replies]

To: bestintxas
as more money will be attracted to their oil projects

I must be missing something. Why is falling prices for the oil result in more money to the oil projects?

19 posted on 11/30/2014 4:14:37 PM PST by thackney (life is fragile, handle with prayer.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]

To: EQAndyBuzz
Most likely, with the Saudis taking the initiative. Engaging the US in service of Saudi interests has long been a key feature of Saudi national strategy.
20 posted on 11/30/2014 4:20:27 PM PST by Rockingham
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-2021-29 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson