Saudi Arabia braces for impact
The kingdom may have to pay a steep price for its efforts to reassert leadership in oil politics
Saudi Arabia has been portrayed as the last man standing from its oil price war with Russia and the US, which briefly dominated the market in March before Covid-19 switched the story dramatically from supply to demand. But now the bill for attempting to bring American shale producers to their knees and discomfiting Russian president Vladimir Putin may be coming due. Riyadh is beginning to shoulder a disproportionate burden for rebalancing global crude markets. And oil prices barely blipped on this week’s news of unilateral Saudi production cuts of 1mn bl/d, which came alongside other domestic moves including a VAT hike and austerity measures totalling $26.6bn, offering a glimpse of possible
Also in this section
26 April 2024
While the US has been breaking records for its premium grade crude, there are doubts over whether you can have too much of a good thing
26 April 2024
Slowing demand growth and capacity expansions will squeeze refiners in coming years
25 April 2024
Some companies with assets in Israel have turned towards Egypt as tensions escalate, but others are holding firm despite rising tensions
24 April 2024
But even planned exploration activity is unlikely to reverse declining output from mature fields