Russia, Saudi Arabia, and the USA: Slippery Oil Triangle
By Jonathan Ariel, May 6, 2020
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Oil relationships are as unstable and volatile as romantic ones. Following a deadlocked OPEC summit in February, Moscow and Riyadh announced they would ramp up production, sending already low prices tumbling. Since both countries’ budgets are almost entirely dependent on energy exports, this suggests they have decided geopolitical interests trump purely economic ones.
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By Jonathan Ariel, May 6, 2020
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: Oil relationships are as unstable and volatile as romantic ones. Following a deadlocked OPEC summit in February, Moscow and Riyadh announced they would ramp up production, sending already low prices tumbling. Since both countries’ budgets are almost entirely dependent on energy exports, this suggests they have decided geopolitical interests trump purely economic ones.
Continue to full article ->
Economic Consequences of COVID-19 in the Middle East: Implications for U.S. National Security
The global COVID-19 pandemic will have a dramatic effect on economies across the globe. But the Middle East may be particularly affected, given the simultaneous fall in oil prices. The economic consequences of this pandemic are also likely to affect U.S. interests in the region. Read more »
The global COVID-19 pandemic will have a dramatic effect on economies across the globe. But the Middle East may be particularly affected, given the simultaneous fall in oil prices. The economic consequences of this pandemic are also likely to affect U.S. interests in the region. Read more »
Why global oil prices will fall below $10: The twin impacts of the worst global health pandemic in over a century and a price war standoff between the world’s top oil producers Saudi Arabia and Russia has driven oil prices to record lows that could soon fall into single dollar digits per barrel. On March 30, spot prices for both global benchmark Brent crude and US-benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) fell to levels not seen since 2002.
Iran's Ayatollahs Will Struggle to Survive the Oil Slump by Con Coughlin
Venezuela: Maduro's Cuban Army by Lawrence A. Franklin
Change US Escalation Calculus With Iran
We offer this opinion piece about increasing US responses to Iranian aggression just as President Trump has this morning “instructed the United States Navy to shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass our ships at sea.” Of course, we don’t know the crucial rules of engagement that will guide Navy…
We offer this opinion piece about increasing US responses to Iranian aggression just as President Trump has this morning “instructed the United States Navy to shoot down and destroy any and all Iranian gunboats if they harass our ships at sea.” Of course, we don’t know the crucial rules of engagement that will guide Navy…