As U.S. shale and Canadian oil sands companies continued to pump out crude, Saudi Arabia let its taps flow and the subsequent plunge in the oil price threw a wrench in their rivals production plans In the high-stakes contest between the United States, the biggest shale oil producer, and Saudi Arabia, the biggest oil exporter, America has blinked first. The OPEC refusal to cut
Read More
ERBIL, Iraq — The new oil agreement between Iraq’s federal government and the autonomous Kurdish government in the north appears to have left some room for confusion as to what the Kurds should do with the significant amount of oil that they do not export under Baghdad’s supervision. According to the deal signed on Dec. 2, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) pledges to exp
Read More
CAMBRIDGE – The price of oil has fallen more than 25% in the past five months, to less than $80 a barrel. If the price remains at this level, it will have important implications – some good, some bad – for many countries around the world. If it falls further, as seems likely, the geopolitical consequences on some oil-producing countries could be dramatic. The price of oil at a
Read More
There's a standoff happening between the old oil powers and the booming US shale industry, as the OPEC oil cartel is thought to be pushing down prices to drive new production offline. But the investment bank Citi says it's not a fight that OPEC leader Saudi Arabia is going to win. Although no one is sure what is causing the plunge in oil prices from above $105 a barrel this s
Read More
For the two families that govern the Kurdistan Region of Iraq — the Barzanis and Talabanis — the Islamic State’s rampage across Iraq this past summer represented an unprecedented opportunity. Taking advantage of the Iraqi army’s complete collapse, the Kurds captured the oil-rich area around Kirkuk on June 11. Soon after taking Kirkuk, President Masoud Barzani called for a refe
Read More