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Oil is Plunging...Good or bad for economy? (1 Viewer)

So is there a way I can "lock in" to gas prices now? Are there any programs to pre-pay for gas at the current price then draw down off the account later?
The question is how much gasoline do you want to "lock-in" at this price?

I'm thinking the pure play would be to buy 1 Emini Unleaded Gasoline Contract. These futs contracts are monthly and they have 12 months listed. Meaning you can buy any month contract from Dec 2014-Dec 2015 right now. The Dec 2015 contract is currently going at $1.75 gallon...and 1 contract equates to 21,000 gallons. There is no delivery in Emini Futures either - so come next year... they don't drop off a truckload of gas at your doorstep. It's a margin-able contract so 1 contract is about $5k of margin.

The way these are priced for every $.01 gas move you make (or lose) $21 on the contract. So if the contract next year is trading at $3.00 you would have made $2625 per contract. Put another way that would pay for 1000 gallons of gasoline at an average of $2.625....that's with the assumption that gasoline will rise back to $3.00 in the next 12 months.

Of course no one knows the future and gas might continue to drop for the foreseeable future and until the downtrend is abated there is risk of significant loss.

 
i can tell you one thing if oil keeps dropping it is going to be hog heaven at the jersey shore so at least all the greaso shops there will be going strong take that to the bank bromigos

 
As the price of a barrel goes down I can understand the cost of fuel and heating oil decreasing. Maybe I am just skeptical but I don't see businesses lowering the cost of goods and services. From an economic standpoint wouldn't they just keep prices where they are and pocket the difference? That economics degree sure paid off for me :bag:

 
One of the big reasons for the drop is that refineries, you know the only customers for crude, are in their maintenance cycles right now. The Saudis expect to see an increase of about 3 million bpd in the next few weeks when those refiners come back online. So between the triple dip recession in Europe, yay austerity, the issues in China( they still haven't dealt with their massive real estate bubble either) and the refineries being off line there is your price drop. If the Saudis are right it could be short lived at least at these levels.

 
One of the big reasons for the drop is that refineries, you know the only customers for crude, are in their maintenance cycles right now. The Saudis expect to see an increase of about 3 million bpd in the next few weeks when those refiners come back online. So between the triple dip recession in Europe, yay austerity, the issues in China( they still haven't dealt with their massive real estate bubble either) and the refineries being off line there is your price drop. If the Saudis are right it could be short lived at least at these levels.
OPEC just released their expectations to 2015. 282k bopd less demand in 2015 than 2014 (about 1% of total), the lowest since 2004.With production unchanged that is 1m bopd less than 2014 production. Will US production keep increasing with dropping prices?

 
One of the big reasons for the drop is that refineries, you know the only customers for crude, are in their maintenance cycles right now. The Saudis expect to see an increase of about 3 million bpd in the next few weeks when those refiners come back online. So between the triple dip recession in Europe, yay austerity, the issues in China( they still haven't dealt with their massive real estate bubble either) and the refineries being off line there is your price drop. If the Saudis are right it could be short lived at least at these levels.
OPEC just released their expectations to 2015. 282k bopd less demand in 2015 than 2014 (about 1% of total), the lowest since 2004.With production unchanged that is 1m bopd less than 2014 production. Will US production keep increasing with dropping prices?
It will start to level off. Those projects that have expended their capex on setup just have runtime costs and will pump. Those that haven't setup may get shut down. So the curve will be more and more stunted the longer this goes on.

 
One of the big reasons for the drop is that refineries, you know the only customers for crude, are in their maintenance cycles right now. The Saudis expect to see an increase of about 3 million bpd in the next few weeks when those refiners come back online. So between the triple dip recession in Europe, yay austerity, the issues in China( they still haven't dealt with their massive real estate bubble either) and the refineries being off line there is your price drop. If the Saudis are right it could be short lived at least at these levels.
Predicted oversupply for next year is over 1mm barrels per day and in the first half the amounts are even greater. Maintenance cycles are an ever year event and the fall cylcle is typically over by mid-November to ramp up distillate production for the winter. Also, oil contract that is dropping is for delivery in late December, which is being purchased for the winter ramp up of distallates.

 
Crude oil prices settled below $60 a barrel Thursday as renewed selling pressure pushed benchmark prices to new five year lows. And the carnage may not be over yet.

West Texas Intermediate crude fell 2.6% to $59.36, its lowest level since July 2009. Brent crude oil dropped 1.4% to $63.34.

The slide came after Bank of America warned that crude oil prices could fall to $50 a barrel in 2015 as North American output, coupled with increased production in Iraq and Libya, hits markets already awash in supply. Separately, Saudi Arabia, the world's No. 2 oil producer after the U.S., suggested it would not cut production to prop up prices.

West Texas crude peaked this year at about $107 a barrel in June. It's now down about 44%.

"We're going appreciatively lower,'' says Tom Kloza, senior analyst for the Oil Price Information Service. "We could see $45 this month. We haven't found a bottom yet."

Crude's slide pushed gasoline futures down 1.3% to $1.62 a gallon on the New York Mercantile Exchange, which is likely to spell more relief at the pump for motorists.

Nationally, gasoline now averages $2.62 a gallon, down 30 cents from just a month ago and 64 cents below last Dec. 11. Prices are expected to come down to $2.50 or less a gallon before year's end.

"This represents the line that, now crossed, oil company execs aren't sleeping at night, as motorists count the bundles of cash they've got left after each fill-up. And in North Dakota and Texas, oil workers are hunting down the proverbial Grinch, hoping they'll still have a Christmas worth celebrating," says Patrick DeHaan, senior petroleum analyst at gasbuddy.com.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2014/12/11/crude-oil-dips-below-60-a-barrel/20261033/

 
At $50 a barrel this has to be a steal, no?
Or $33 a barrel is a steal.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/oil-breaks-50-wall-street-172215306.html

Brent futures, in free fall Monday, have already sunk below $55 per barrel, losing more than 6 percent to just below $53 per barrel. WTI futures settled at $50.04 per barrel. From a technical perspective, the next target in WTI is north of $48 per barrel, but there is a case to be made for the low $30s per barrel.

"The ultimate target is now $33. That's how it sets up on the charts and that's a pronounced double bottom," said John Kilduff of Again Capital. He said the market consolidated in December but is now set on forging new lows. WTI closed at $33.98 on Feb. 12, 2009, and it is now trading at levels last seen in April 2009.

As the charts look bearish, the fundamentals are also more bearish, with reports of more supply adding to the glut.

 
That cheap oil would be HUGE for our economy. It's like a tax cut that redirects spending here in the states right? (Well except for states side oil producers but they had their gravy train for a while.)

I know most will disagree but i think this would be a perfect time to enact a small bump to gas taxes and direct those funds to our crumbling infrastructure.

 
That cheap oil would be HUGE for our economy. It's like a tax cut that redirects spending here in the states right? (Well except for states side oil producers but they had their gravy train for a while.)

I know most will disagree but i think this would be a perfect time to enact a small bump to gas taxes and direct those funds to our crumbling infrastructure.
I predict a huge increase in gas taxes coast-to-coast.

 
That cheap oil would be HUGE for our economy. It's like a tax cut that redirects spending here in the states right? (Well except for states side oil producers but they had their gravy train for a

while.)

I know most will disagree but i think this would be a perfect time to enact a small bump to gas

taxes and direct those funds to our crumbling infrastructure.
I would be okay with a gasoline tax that fluctuates with the prices at the pump. Increase it when the prices are low but keep it at current levels when it is higher.

 
Baloney Sandwich said:
NetnautX said:
That cheap oil would be HUGE for our economy. It's like a tax cut that redirects spending here in the states right? (Well except for states side oil producers but they had their gravy train for a

while.)

I know most will disagree but i think this would be a perfect time to enact a small bump to gas

taxes and direct those funds to our crumbling infrastructure.
I would be okay with a gasoline tax that fluctuates with the prices at the pump. Increase it when the prices are low but keep it at current levels when it is higher.
You mean like a percentage?

 
Baloney Sandwich said:
NetnautX said:
That cheap oil would be HUGE for our economy. It's like a tax cut that redirects spending here in the states right? (Well except for states side oil producers but they had their gravy train for a

while.)

I know most will disagree but i think this would be a perfect time to enact a small bump to gas

taxes and direct those funds to our crumbling infrastructure.
I would be okay with a gasoline tax that fluctuates with the prices at the pump. Increase it when the prices are low but keep it at current levels when it is higher.
You mean like a percentage?
Or kind of the opposite.

 
Jobber said:
What does $33/barrel translate to at the pump?
If it would stick for a while (which I don't think will happen) your looking at close to under $2 a gallon again.

Wouldn't that be nice!

 
gas prices are great. makes me want to go on a road-trip.

It's obviously bad for the oil industry and it's fallen so fast, it is going to create instability but longterm, should be good.

 
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That's crazy. I am just waiting for CA to raise it's $.50 tax to $1.00 to help bring them out of insolvency. Then again, i guess we pay for the weather :doh:

 
Read some article about how oil prices getting this low will trigger debt issues and a stock market crash :popcorn:

 
Read some article about how oil prices getting this low will trigger debt issues and a stock market crash :popcorn:
If it lasts some of the higher leveraged players will certainly have issues. If that happens it will be a shopping spree for the big boys.

 
Low oil prices are great for the poor and middle class. Saving $20-$80/mo at the pump and another $50 on their oil bill over the next 3 months can be a big deal.

If the price stays low into the spring #### could start to hit the fan on a macro level. Many states depend on tax revenue from the oil & gas industry, if this gets hit hard states will be scrambling, and eventually may lead to raising taxes elsewhere to balance the budget. Also the loss of tens of thousands of high paying jobs would have a negative impact that could drag the economy down.

Smaller oil companies are already cutting back. I heard yesterday that one company is laying down rigs, cutting company men rates in half (down to $1500/day, boohoo), and cutting contracts across the board by 15%. Today I heard a larger company stated in this morning's meeting they are increasing their budget for 2015 and looking to buy up smaller companies along the way. This is just for one small patch in the Permian basin.

Most people on the ground here think things will stabilize by spring. $60-$80 barrel would be a nice sweet spot that provides cheap prices at the pump while allowing the industry to thrive.

 
Read some article about how oil prices getting this low will trigger debt issues and a stock market crash :popcorn:
If it lasts some of the higher leveraged players will certainly have issues. If that happens it will be a shopping spree for the big boys.
I've read that our banks are some of the "high leveraged players." Some are anticipating that oil companies will start defaulting on their loans and the Saudis, for one, are banking on it.

 
Low oil prices are great for the poor and middle class. Saving $20-$80/mo at the pump and another $50 on their oil bill over the next 3 months can be a big deal.

If the price stays low into the spring #### could start to hit the fan on a macro level. Many states depend on tax revenue from the oil & gas industry, if this gets hit hard states will be scrambling, and eventually may lead to raising taxes elsewhere to balance the budget. Also the loss of tens of thousands of high paying jobs would have a negative impact that could drag the economy down.

Smaller oil companies are already cutting back. I heard yesterday that one company is laying down rigs, cutting company men rates in half (down to $1500/day, boohoo), and cutting contracts across the board by 15%. Today I heard a larger company stated in this morning's meeting they are increasing their budget for 2015 and looking to buy up smaller companies along the way. This is just for one small patch in the Permian basin.

Most people on the ground here think things will stabilize by spring. $60-$80 barrel would be a nice sweet spot that provides cheap prices at the pump while allowing the industry to thrive.
Texas and the Dakotas will get crushed, but it's a net benefit for virtually every other state though, right?

 
well it might end fracking bromigos which would be a pretty damned good thing you know because one great thing is not having your water turn on fire take that to the bank brobarians

 
well it might end fracking bromigos which would be a pretty damned good thing you know because one great thing is not having your water turn on fire take that to the bank brobarians
The break-even on oil fracking is reported to be around $40/barrel. Unless you believe oil will never again rise above that price-point fracking is here to stay.

That's aside from natural gas fracking.

 
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Read some article about how oil prices getting this low will trigger debt issues and a stock market crash :popcorn:
If it lasts some of the higher leveraged players will certainly have issues. If that happens it will be a shopping spree for the big boys.
I've read that our banks are some of the "high leveraged players." Some are anticipating that oil companies will start defaulting on their loans and the Saudis, for one, are banking on it.
I see companies like LINE having issues, for sure. I think they are in pre-default mode as it is. I haven't heard anything about the exposure banks have being catastrophic. Nor have the markets drubbed the banking sector. So I'd say that's a bit premature. The markets are pretty good at pricing in risk premiums.

 
Can we just remember this the next time that airlines or shipping companies complain about rising gas prices? Jet fuel has fallen in price even more than the gas we use in our cars yet the cost of plane tickets has RISEN by 3% since this time last year. I haven't noticed shipping costs being any cheaper either.

Scammers will probably double dip and raise ticket prices again when fuel prices go back up, citing the rising cost in fuel even though their prices were never adjusted for the cheaper fuel prices in the first place.

 
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What is causing oil to get so cheap?
Saudis US companies are flooding the market by overproducing.They want to crush Russia' abg. ility to compete as well as central America and the investments in shale & fracking in the US. If they can get the price low enough, no one will want to enter the market as competition. They will lose a few million a day and live off their vast cash reserves for a few years, wait for the competitors to die and fracking to disappear, then crank the price back up again when they're the only ones left.
FYP.

It's getting tiresome to have to explain the same thing over and over again.

Saudi production is stable. US production keeps on growing. Supply met and exceeded the balance point. price plummets.

Saudis don't want to keep losing market share so they keep their production stable.

 
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US oil production to rise

Anjli Raval, Neil Hume and Robin Wigglesworth in London and Gregory Meyer in New York

Pump jacks and wells are seen in an oil field on the Monterey Shale formation, California (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)©Getty

US oil production will increase both this year and next despite the 60 per cent slide in oil prices since mid-June and an Opec policy designed to rein in the North American shale boom, the US government said.

The forecast came as a leading Opec producer said the cartel was sticking to its strategy of maintaining output and testing the mettle of high-cost producers around the world.

The US Energy Department said output would rise by 600,000 barrels a day this year to 9.3m b/d and by 200,000 b/d to 9.5m b/d in 2016.

The projected increase for this year is slightly lower than a previous a forecast in December, reflecting the pressure of lower crude prices on the US oil industry.

“Many oil companies have cut back on their exploration drilling in response to falling crude prices and will concentrate their drilling activities in established areas that already have productive wells,” the department said.

The combination of technologies such as horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking”, has unlocked America’s vast shale resources and propelled US production to around 9m b/d.

The official estimates suggest the US shale industry has proved more resilient in the face of collapsing oil prices than initially feared. Although production will slow, officials said output next year will be at its highest level since 1970.

However some analysts are less optimistic, predicting a major pullback in investment which will lead to production declines by the end of this year.

The slide in oil prices accelerated in November last year after Opec, the producers’ cartel, which pumps a third of the world’s oil, decided to keep output steady at 30m b/d, rather than cut its production to shore up prices.

Speaking at an energy conference in Abu Dhabi, Suhail bin Mohammed al-Mazroui, the oil minister for the United Arab Emirates — a leading Gulf producer — said the cartel would not change its strategy.

“We have seen oversupply coming from shale oil and that needed to be corrected,” he said.

Opec has shown no signs of capitulation despite poorer members of the cartel such as Venezuela voicing concern about low prices. Iranian president Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday that Saudi Arabia and Kuwait would also suffer from the drop in oil prices.

So pessimistic are investors about the oil price that some have placed bets on US crude slumping to beyond $20 a barrel, a level last traded almost 13 years ago.

The number of outstanding contracts that give the right to sell US benchmark West Texas Intermediate at this level by June, known as put options has swelled from almost zero at the start of the year to 13,129 lots, according to Nymex data. This is the equivalent of 13m barrels of oil.

The latest trades underscore the scale of the oil rout and the still murky outlook for the world’s staple industrial commodity. Not even at the height of the 2008-09 financial crisis — when much of the developed world was marred in recession — did US crude or its international counterpart Brent reach $30 a barrel.

The appearance of these pessimistic wagers since the start of the year does not necessarily mean the market will reach those levels. But traders have said these bets are a low-risk, low-cost way to bet on further falls in prices that have already dropped by almost 60 per cent since mid-June. Each option costs just 7 cents.

So far, these contracts are heavily “out-of-the-money”, in financial parlance. with current prices more than double the $20 strike price. But even if West Texas Intermediate oil does not fall to this level, these options can increase sharply in value if oil starts dipping closer to it.

ICE February Brent fell $1.54 to $45.90 in afternoon trading while Nymex February West Texas Intermediate declined 60 cents to $45.47 having briefly traded at parity with the international oil benchmark. Both markers are at the lowest since March 2009.

The price of Brent crude has fallen by more than 20 per cent since the start of the year, while WTI has dropped by 16 per cent, coming under further pressure as oil market watchers downwardly revised forecasts.
 
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Speaking at an energy conference in Abu Dhabi, Suhail bin Mohammed al-Mazroui, the oil minister for the United Arab Emirates — a leading Gulf producer — said the cartel would not change its strategy.

“We have seen oversupply coming from shale oil and that needed to be corrected,” he said.
They are the ones oversupplying - not the U.S.

Almost all of their oil is for export while we still produce less than we use.

 
Speaking at an energy conference in Abu Dhabi, Suhail bin Mohammed al-Mazroui, the oil minister for the United Arab Emirates — a leading Gulf producer — said the cartel would not change its strategy.

“We have seen oversupply coming from shale oil and that needed to be corrected,” he said.
They are the ones oversupplying - not the U.S.

Almost all of their oil is for export while we still produce less than we use.
The US, like it or not, is part of the market, even when you spend more than you produce.

 
cstu said:
According to the World Bank, good for the U.S. and India but not for the rest of the world.

The tumble in oil has bolstered the U.S. recovery by giving consumers more money to spend, leading the bank to revise up its growth projection for the worlds largest economy by 0.2 percentage point to 3.2%. But the price plunge is failing to spur stronger growth in importers such as Europe and Japan, while also exacerbating financial problems in major oil exporters.
Off the top if my head, German retail sales were much stronger than expected in Nov/Dec.
 
What is causing oil to get so cheap?
Saudis are flooding the market by overproducing. They want to crush Russia' ability to compete as well as central America and the investments in shale & fracking in the US. If they can get the price low enough, no one will want to enter the market as competition. They will lose a few million a day and live off their vast cash reserves for a few years, wait for the competitors to die and fracking to disappear, then crank the price back up again when they're the only ones left.
People are having a hard time getting their head around this, and I agree with this assessment.

For now lower oil prices are negatively impacting financial markets and slowing economic growth domestically. Some people think that if the U.S. produces more oil were in control of the market. That certainly is proving not to be the case here.

 
Of course it is good for the economy.
It's not that easy of an answer. Essentially this is just a transfer of wealth from producer to consumer, but consumer spending is stagnant at the moment so the benefits are yet to be seen. It also increases the chances of global deflationary mechanisms and the dollar has gained significantly over the same period, reducing the U.S.'s purchasing power and job creation. Oil prices are also not falling because of traditional supply and depend mechanisms, but because Saudi Arabia has essentially just flooded the market for the moment to prove a point to it's OPEC brothers.

Venezuela is also negatively impacted and could default, which effects global markets. Lastly this effects the U.S. who is set to become the biggest oil producer in the world in late 2015. A lot of jobs, investment, and growth are negatively impacted by lower oil prices.
To oil-related businesses but to consumers it means more discretionary money and to other companies it means more profits.

Overall growth of the economy depends on low energy prices.
No, no it doesn't.

 
Fed Saw Consumer Spending Rise Amid Concern on Lower Oil Prices

By Jeff Kearns and Christopher Condon Jan 14, 2015 11:17 AM PT

A Federal Reserve survey showed most regions saw “modest” or “moderate” economic growth driven by gains in consumer spending, while the energy-rich Dallas district slowed as oil prices plunged.

“Consumer spending increased in most districts, with generally modest year-over-year gains in retail sales,” the Fed said today in its Beige Book, based on reports from its 12 districts gathered on or before Jan. 5. “Auto sales showed moderate to strong growth.”

The report follows Commerce Department data earlier today showing that retail sales slumped in December from the prior month. From a year earlier, sales increased 3.2 percent in December following a 4.7 percent gain in November.

Several districts “expect somewhat faster growth over the coming months,” the Fed report showed. “Payrolls in a variety of sectors expanded moderately” and “significant wage pressures were largely limited to workers with specialized technical skills.”

The Beige Book offers Fed policy makers, who meet Jan. 27-28, anecdotal evidence about the state of the economy as they consider when to raise interest rates for the first time since 2006. Oil prices have plunged by more than half since June.
 
I found this interesting...

link

Saudi prince: $100-a-barrel oil 'never' againSaudi billionaire businessman Prince Alwaleed bin Talal told me we will not see $100-a-barrel oil again. The plunge in oil prices has been one of the biggest stories of the year. And while cheap gasoline is good for consumers, the negative impact of a 50% decline in oil has been wide and deep, especially for major oil producers such as Saudi Arabia and Russia. Even oil-producing Texas has felt a hit. The astute investor and prince of the Saudi royal family spoke to me exclusively last week as prices spiraled below $50 a barrel. He also predicted the move would dampen what has been one of the big U.S. growth stories: the shale revolution. In fact, in the last two weeks, several major rig operators said they had received early cancellation notices for rig contracts. Companies apparently would rather pay to cancel rig agreements than keep drilling at these prices. His royal highness, who has been critical of Saudi Arabia's policies that have allowed prices to fall, called the theory of a plan to hurt Russian President Putin with cheap oil "baloney" and said the sharp sell-off has put the Saudis "in bed" with the Russians. The interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Q: Can you explain Saudi Arabia's strategy in terms of not cutting oil production?

A: Saudi Arabia and all of the countries were caught off guard. No one anticipated it was going to happen. Anyone who says they anticipated this 50% drop (in price) is not saying the truth.

Because the minister of oil in Saudi Arabia just in July publicly said $100 is a good price for consumers and producers. And less than six months later, the price of oil collapses 50%.

Having said that, the decision to not reduce production was prudent, smart and shrewd. Because had Saudi Arabia cut its production by 1 or 2 million barrels, that 1 or 2 million would have been produced by others. Which means Saudi Arabia would have had two negatives, less oil produced, and lower prices. So, at least you got slammed and slapped on the face from one angle, which is the reduction of the price of oil, but not the reduction of production.

Q: So this is about not losing market share?

A: Yes. Although I am in full disagreement with the Saudi government, and the minister of oil, and the minister of finance on most aspects, on this particular incident I agree with the Saudi government of keeping production where it is.

Q: What is moving prices? Is this a supply or a demand story? Some say there's too much oil in the world, and that is pressuring prices. But others say the global economy is slow, so it's weak demand.

A: It is both. We have an oversupply. Iraq right now is producing very much. Even in Libya, where they have civil war, they are still producing. The U.S. is now producing shale oil and gas. So, there's oversupply in the market. But also demand is weak. We all know Japan is hovering around 0% growth. China said that they'll grow 6% or 7%. India's growth has been cut in half. Germany acknowledged just two months ago they will cut the growth potential from 2% to 1%. There's less demand, and there's oversupply. And both are recipes for a crash in oil. And that's what happened. It's a no-brainer.

Q: Will prices continue to fall?

A: If supply stays where it is, and demand remains weak, you better believe it is gonna go down more. But if some supply is taken off the market, and there's some growth in demand, prices may go up. But I'm sure we're never going to see $100 anymore. I said a year ago, the price of oil above $100 is artificial. It's not correct.

Q: Wow. And you said you are in agreement with the Saudi government to not give up market share?

A: This is the only point I'm agreeing with the Saudi Arabian government on oil. That's the only point, yes.

Q: Should the Saudis cut production if they get an agreement with other oil producing countries to take oil off the market?

A: Frankly speaking, to get all OPEC countries to approve and accept it, including Russia and Iran, and everybody else, is almost impossible You can never have an agreement whereby everybody cuts production. We can't trust all OPEC countries. And can't trust the non-OPEC countries. So it's not on the table because the others will cheat. The past has proven that. When Saudi Arabia cut production in the '80s and '90s, everybody cheated and took market share from us. Plus, remember there is an agenda here also. Although Saudi Arabia and OPEC countries did not engineer the reduction in the price of oil, there's a positive side effect, whereby at a certain price, we will see how many shale oil production companies run out of business. So although we are caught off guard by this, we are capitalizing on this matter whereby we'll live with $50 temporarily, to see how much new supply there will be, because this will render many new projects economically unfeasible.

Q: What about the theory of the pressure on the Russians? There's a theory that the U.S. and the Saudis have agreed to keep prices low to pressure Russia because of what Putin has done in Ukraine.

A: Two words: baloney and rubbish. I'm telling you, there's no way Saudis will do this. Because Saudi Arabia is hurting as much as Russia, period. Now, we don't show it because of our big reserves. But I'll tell you Saudi Arabia and Russia are in bed together here. And both are being hurt simultaneously. And there's no political conspiracy whatsoever against Russia. Because we are shooting ourselves in the foot if we do that.

Q: You said the price of oil will dampen the shale revolution in America. How?

A: Shale oil and shale gas, these are new products in the market. And we see big ranges. no one knows for sure what price is the breaking point for shale. Wells have a higher production cost. And very clearly these will run out of business, or at least not be economical. At $50, will it still be economically feasible? Unclear. This is a very much developing story.

Q: Some people believe this crash in oil will create a lot of new mergers in the energy industry. Do you agree?

A: No doubt about that. For sure there'll be a lot of consolidation in the market. Because many small and medium-sized companies can't afford this. Because they are very much dependent on the price of oil. Big companies like Exxon and Chevron are weathering the oil market crash because they are integrated vertically. But no doubt there'll be some mergers and acquisitions coming in one to two years.

 

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