Saudi Arabia’s pyrrhic oil war triumph
The kingdom may consider it has prevailed over Russia and US shale producers in the short-term, but its longer-term prospects are clouded in uncertainty
Riyadh has scored some impressive victories in the month-long oil price war it and Russia unleashed, and which has ended in a three-way truce of sorts, crucially also involving the US. But analysts caution that any supply-side calm necessitated by the unprecedented global health and economic emergency—and oil demand destruction—posed by the Covid-19 pandemic may be fragile. It may be too early for Saudi Arabia to celebrate: continuing elbowing for market share, especially in Asia, is just one sign of ongoing challenges. Outwardly, at least, Saudi Arabia appears triumphant. There are few more public ways to project an image than to buy a European football club, in its case a bid for England’s
Also in this section
9 January 2026
The Latin American producer’s crude prospects rely on a multi-pronged approach where even the relatively easy wins will take considerable time, effort and cost
9 January 2026
While many forecasters are reasserting the importance of oil and gas, petrostates should be under no illusion things are changing, and faster than they might think
8 January 2026
Indonesia and Malaysia are at the dawn of breathtaking digital capabilities. Their energy infrastructure must keep up with their ambitions
8 January 2026
The next five years will be critical for the North Sea, and it will be policy not geology that will decide the basin’s future
