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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsU.A.E. Sees OPEC Output Unchanged Even If Oil Drops to $40
By Anthony DiPaola and Mahmoud Habboush Dec 15, 2014 9:20 AM ET
OPEC will stand by its decision not to cut output even if oil prices fall as low as $40 a barrel and will wait at least three months before considering an emergency meeting, the United Arab Emirates energy minister said.
OPEC isnt planning to change its Nov. 27 decision to keep the groups collective output target unchanged at 30 million barrels a day, Suhail Al-Mazrouei said. Venezuela supports an OPEC meeting given the price slide, though the country hasnt officially requested one, an official at Venezuelas foreign ministry said Dec. 12. The group is due to meet again on June 5.
We are not going to change our minds because the prices went to $60 or to $40, Mazrouei told Bloomberg yesterday at a conference in Dubai. Were not targeting a price; the market will stabilize itself. He said current conditions dont justify an extraordinary OPEC meeting. We need to wait for at least a quarter to consider an urgent session, he said.
OPECs 12 members pumped 30.56 million barrels a day in November, exceeding their target for a sixth consecutive month, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Kuwait this month deepened discounts on shipments to Asia, feeding speculation that theyre fighting for market share amid a glut fed by surging U.S. shale production. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries supplies about 40 percent of the worlds oil.
more...
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-14/u-a-e-says-opec-won-t-change-output-even-if-price-drops-to-40.html
ProdigalJunkMail
(12,017 posts)and stop oil-shale production in the USA... once that's all taken care of, they'll tighten the spigots again and drive prices up.
sP
Purveyor
(29,876 posts)Marin Katusa, Chief Energy Investment Strategist
December 11, 2014
Oil is not quite as powerful a weapon against modern-day Russia as one might think.
By arguing that the slump in oil prices will finish off Russia just like it did the Soviet Union, Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, writing in the Daily Telegraph, is forgetting how far Russia has come since those dark days.
It is true that the USSR couldnt cope with falling oil revenues and that Saudi Arabia is credited with helping to break up the former empire by dramatically increasing oil production from 2 million to 10 million barrels per day in 1985.
And sanctions could make it harder for Russian firms to access Western know-how, and ultimately affect Russias oil output.
But thats only if they drag on for yearswhich is doubtful, given the price the EU is already paying. A cut in global oil supplyand stronger global growthwill likely rebalance the oil market in the meantime.
more...
http://www.caseyresearch.com/articles/russias-unfazed-by-falling-oil-prices
upaloopa
(11,417 posts)are high I hear complaints about greedy oil companies and commodity traders. Now that gas prices are lower it seems that those responsible are bad guys.
Stopping shale production is a good thing because it involves fracking which pollutes our water. We also won't need an pipeline down the middle of our country. So I don't see the problem here other than alternatives are less competitive but some day there won't be enough oil and I hope by then we are not driving cars that burn gasoline.