^I recall reading an article from a few months ago that noted when the Saudis began this power play, shale oil was considered viable at around $80/bbl, so cutting the price to below $75 is in line with that thought process. Problem for the Saudis though is that the Americans managed to find so many ways to improve the process that it quickly became viable at $50. And possibly even lower now. So not only has the plan backfired on the Saudis, all they have done is make shale oil's position even stronger when prices recover.
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