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There are a number of oil companies with strong balance sheets (i.e. Oxy, Chevron & ExxonMobil) that will be able to come in and pick off the firms on the cheap, relatively speaking. Subsequently, production will pick up, and a portion of the decline will be offset.

BS as the writer neglects to address the economic advantage that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has over US domestics. Comparing the ease of producing oil in Saudi Arabia versus fracking in the Bakken is like comparing putting a straw in the ground to get oil flowing versus blasting through basalt to get at it. The break-even cost of producing in the USA is many-fold more costly than producing in KSA.

Saudi Arabia could pretty much end new US domestic oil production by selling $3O oil into US markets. The last time $30 oil was seen in the US was in the 1980s. It can happen again, the Saudis can let it happen.

No it’s not more government involvement in our capital market, directly. KSA is big man on the block in the MENA region and wants to maintain their status. US companies becoming the largest oil producer has the potential to alter that, but what would definitely change their status? It’s Iran acquiring nuclear capabilities. With oil prices low and continued sanctions, Iran will have difficulty meeting their social-economic responsibilities. Russia’s support of Iran has been well documented. Russia will find it very difficult to continue supporting Iran in their nuclear quest.

Continued BS as the writer confuses cause and effect. The benefit of having Russia and Iran more disabled and less capable IS A CONSEQUENCE OF production decisions leading to lower oil prices. But the Saudis and their financial oil networks have been talking for years how to counter the fracking revolution. They have known for years they have the competitive economic advantage and therefore the power to curb new production by letting oil prices fall.

If the Saudis had wanted to cripple Iran or punish Russia, they could have long ago increased production and caused a price war on those producers. It was only earlier this year that domestic oil was flooding US refineries everywhere and WTI started to fall that prompted KSA to let worldwide prices fall by not cutting production.

Here's the reality from past years: Iran has had and still has formidable sanctions on its oil sales. It's been able to sneak oil to others and change ownership title names and Certificates of Origin but only in isolated cases. Compared to KSA production, Iran barely registers as a trickle although that can change as this administration continues to work towards lifting sanctions.

Russian oil supply is notoriously corrupt. There is no rule of law in Russia and in their producing regions. Contracts are meaningless to them. Oil buyers can on occasion get large discounts on Russian crude but most every purchaser has the attitude of "Show Me" meaning bring it to Rotterdam, let me see it and test it and then we'll talk. In sum, Russian crude supply is not consistent and not reliable. But black market discounts have made some rogue traders very wealthy.

Iraq has been largely controlled by the USA via JP Morgan Chase which is the force behind the Iraqi Central Bank. That is all changing but still pretty much in place. Iraqi oil is mostly presold and approved through its central bank as a proxy for JP Morgan.

Kurdistan wants to sell Kirkuk oil but is in a fight with Baghdad about who approves. There are pipelines from Kurdistan to Turkey and there are terrorist supplied truck lines to Iran and then to Turkey. The flow of oil to Iran and Turkey by truck is barely detectable and insignificant to influencing oil prices globally. Each truck can haul about 200 barrels (less usually) and a daily caravan of hundred trucks would make about 20,000 bbls daily. Compare this to the hauling capacity of a Suezmax Tanker carrying 1,000,000 bbls.

Venezuela is a basket case of corruption and risk.

Mexico, forgeddaboudit, you'll lose all your investment unless you have a few narco terrorist friends and then you could lose more than your money.

Nigeria, maximum corruption, rotten from top to bottom. The majors have their own loading terminals that they built on Bonny Island and lots and lots of security. And Nigeria has about half their oil wells under OPEC. There are opportunities for those that are not afraid of extreme high risk. Other parts of Africa such as Mozambique have oil but no infrastructure and no rule of law so investment dollars are at high risk.

The long and short is Saudi Arabia and their neighbors in United Arab Emirates (UAE) which serves as the oil hub for all the Middle East oil producers with Dubai as the Hong Kong of the Middle East are the go-to-guys for European and USA buyers. The emergence of significant US domestic production is the greatest threat to KSA and they have said so repeatedly over the years (http://cnsnews.com/news/article/michael-w-chapman/saudi-billionaire-prince-fracking-competitively-threatens-any-oil). Humbling and breaking Iran and Russia is a mere beneficial consequence of letting oil prices collapse. It is NOT the main factor in their decision making process.

The writer of this garbage either has his/her head up their ass or his/her news outlet has been paid by Saudi originated funds to spread a false narrative. And yes the Saudis do engage in propaganda. They own and control either directly or through surrogates a lot of media.

Let me give an idea of just how wealthy the Saudis are, all made possible by the USA and Europe. You know how Forbes Magazine is always publishing who are the top billionaires in the world? With Carlos Slim in Mexico as number 1 with about $70 Billion net worth? Complete utter BS. Prince Alwaleed of Saudi Arabia alone is worth $27 Trillion of which half is gold and growing. The entire Saudi Royal Family and financial network could pay their own deficits and that of their Arab neighbors for generations. Falling oil prices doesn't phase them in the least. But don't let anyone get in their way of losing market share to US domestics. That has already started to happen and that is why they are letting oil free fall.

Lastly, there is such an oil glut now in the USA that politicians are talking about allowing domestic oil to be exported. It is very possible in fact highly probably that Europeans would rush to place purchase orders for US crude and especially LNG. This would free them from Middle East influence and Russian influence. Saudis can't let that happen in their view.