Energy

Residents of the Middle East are used to attracting the derision of the rest of the globe’s inhabitants with their outlandish conspiracy theories. Local governments’ tendency to offer limited justifications for their policy decisions inadvertently contributes to cloak-and-dagger speculation about unremarkable phenomena.

When the founders of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), convened in Baghdad in 1960, they made life difficult for themselves by violating virtually all of the ideal conditions for operating a cartel.

Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Amir Muhammad bin Salman Al Saud recently proposed the privatization of the national oil company, Aramco. Many analysts’ initial reaction was that Saudi Arabia must be in dire straits if it is even considering—let alone actually implementing—such a policy.

In a market that is traditionally dominated by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries—Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE— Russia has recently entered the fray, and Iran, as well as Iraq are keen to make up for lost time from sanctions and supply disruptions, respectively.

Saudi Arabia and the Gulf countries should consider supporting environmental non-governmental organizations in the US.

“You can’t run a business based on sympathies,” the controversial billionaire oil broker, Marc Rich once said. The business of oil is no different; it lubricates the region. And as the price of oil has taken a hit from a high last year of $115 a barrel to $50 a barrel, many are casting about for reasons as to why.

There has been widespread debate regarding the environmental risks of hydraulic fracturing, especially concerns about ground water contamination. The shale oil and gas industry is built on the technology of hydraulic fracturing, and it has made vast amounts of oil and gas shale resources extractable at reasonable costs.

The surge in shale oil supply has changed previous perceptions of oil market dynamics. The US shale oil industry succeeded in doubling US oil output in a few years, specifically after the 2008 financial crisis and up to 2014.