One of the ongoing debates in OilWorld: How much spare capacity remains in the system to produce oil at additional levels, globally, in case of emergency?
Let us not forget the words of the late, great Matthew Simmons (paraphrasing): “Once Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦 has peaked, then the world has effectively peaked.”
Ergo, there’s no spare capacity to offset banned / boycotted Ru oil. Ergo, global oil mkt = sellers mkt now.
The above piece via Pepe Escobar states that there is now declining spare capacity in #KSA 🇸🇦 due to declining investment in #oil extraction tech.
It’s actually the other way around: there’s now declining investment b/c there’s no new profitable 🇸🇦 oil to be had. #PeakOil
In simple terms: when the Biden Admin talks about “sanctioning” Ru, there’s an implicit assumption that there’s enough extra #oil out there to offset banned Ru oil.
But this is no longer the case. Result: mad scrambles for remaining oil bids up #prices on world market.
In the meantime, “banned” Ru #oil still finds its way into the world mkt, but now at a much higher price. So high that it more than offsets reduced volume in total product sales.
And b/c every modern commodity relies on oil, as oil prices go so go all consumer prices. #CPI
Example: Look at what has been happening in **relatively affluent Europe**. In some parts of the Global South, it’s even worse.
Meanwhile, back in Brussels, priests of the European Parliament continued casting spells and making human sacrifice out of their domestic population, in desperate hope that the god of #sanctions would eventually hear their pleas & smite their enemies!
Oh my! The dam holding back the disinformation waters is slowly starting to crack. And @guardian is now changing its tune.
👇🏽
Russia is winning the economic war - and Putin is no closer to withdrawing troops | Larry Elliott | The Guardian theguardian.com/commentisfree/…
Axiom: withdraw product from tight market 👈🏽 get shortages. It’s as if they hadn’t thought this through.🤦🏽♂️
“the #sanctions have had the perverse effect of driving up the cost of Russia’s #oil and #gas exports, massively boosting its trade balance and financing its #war effort.”
This is the same basic epistemological framework (mindset) that had us believe in 2007 that financial markets were sound …until we found out they weren’t.
To all my former business students:
👇🏽
Just b/c something is “popular wisdom” doesn’t mean it’s the “correct wisdom.”
@ejmalrai@OPEC Really?! Blow up the USA 🇺🇸/ KSA 🇸🇦 special arrangement?!
“The bill, meanwhile, comes amid a growing attitude in Congress to punish Saudi Arabia for its refusal to cooperate with the US on a response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine as well as a number of human rights issues.”
@ejmalrai@OPEC The US (together with the rest of what #PepeEscobar calls #NATOstan) is going for broke on this whole Russian 🇷🇺 sanctions thing. It is now a clear sign of desperation on the part of our 🇺🇸 political leaders.
“Today I have signed an Executive Order that establishes the rules for #trade in Russian #NaturalGas with so-called unfriendly states. We offer counterparties from such countries a clear and transparent scheme. To purchase Russian natural gas, they must open ruble accounts…”
What we are witnessing here (potentially) is nothing less than the gradual conversion of the Russian ruble from a “soft” to a “hard” currency. Students in my international business class will appreciate the significance of this.
This massive release of oil from the #StrategicPetroleumReserve has all the markings of desperation in the face of a global emergency.
It’s the energy equivalent of dipping into a savings account to make routine payments.
QUOTE—
“the world has never had a release of oil reserves at this 1 million per day rate for this length of time. This record release will provide a historic amount of supply to serve as bridge until the end of the year when domestic production ramps up”
“Resisting a more powerful opponent will result in your defeat, whilst adjusting to and evading your opponent's attack will cause him to lose his balance, his power will be reduced, and you will defeat him. This can apply whatever the relative values of power…” ~ Jigaro Kano
As I study the geopolitical moves of Putin & the Russians, it seems to me they are adeptly applying “judo principles” in the pursuit of their political & economic goals.
They are using elements of surprise to throw opponents off balance, literally & figuratively.