Sputnik — Saudi Oil Industry at Risk as American, European Refiners Refusing Riyadh’s Crude – Reports

Oil glut?

Sputnik
Saudi Oil Industry at Risk as American, European Refiners Refusing Riyadh’s Crude – Reports

Saudis Boost Crude Oil Exports To China By 47% In 2019 — Tsvetana Paraskova

The world’s largest oil exporter, Saudi Arabia, significantly raised its crude sales to the world’s largest oil importer, China, in 2019, boosting its exports to China by 47 percent and beating Russia for the top Chinese supplier spot for the first time in four years, according to Chinese customs data as carried by Reuters on Friday. While Saudi Arabia restricts production under the OPEC+ deal, it has prioritized shipments to the most prized markets, China and Asia, at the expense of exports to markets such as the United States....

Going where the future lies. It's also the reason that the UK and EU stiffed Trump on his demand to isolate Huawei, endangering the Chinese market for them.

Oilprice
Saudis Boost Crude Oil Exports To China By 47% In 2019
Tsvetana Paraskova

Zero Hedge — Houthis Say It's Not Over - Saudi Oil "Still Within Range"; Iraq Denies Its Territory Used

While US officials were quick out of the gate to allege an Iranian attack on Saudi Aramco facilities launched from Iraq early Saturday, a theory which the WSJ said was focus of an ongoing US-Saudi investigation, Iraq's government issued a firm denial on Sunday, which followed Iran's own denial that condemned Washington's "maximum lies"....

But crucially the Houthis have defiantly announced it's not over: "The rebel group said its weapons could reach anywhere in Saudi Arabia. Saturday’s strikes were carried out by aircraft equipped with a new type of engine, the Houthi rebel group said," Bloomberg reports.

Whatever the source this is not only a catastrophe for the Saudi leadership that began a war of choice with Yemen, but also the US military-industrial complex whose best weapons acquired in volume still could not counter an asymmetrical attack that cost very little in terms of criteria militaries use to measure investment and return.

Zero Hedge
Houthis Say It's Not Over - Saudi Oil "Still Within Range"; Iraq Denies Its Territory Used
Tyler Durden

See also

Moon of Alabama
Damage At Saudi Oil Plant Points To Well Targeted Swarm Attack

My own view: This is a shot across the bow.

Saudi Arabia’s ‘Strategic Plan’ to Take Turkey Down — David Hearst and Ragip Soylu

Saudi Arabia has begun implementing a “strategic plan” to confront the Turkish government, after Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman decided he was being “too patient” with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the wake of journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s murder.

The plan is detailed in a confidential report based on open- and closed-source intelligence prepared by the kingdom’s ally, the United Arab Emirates.

The intelligence report is one of a monthly series written by the Emirates Policy Centre, a think tank with close links to the Emirati government and security services.

Entitled “Monthly Report on Saudi Arabia, Issue 24, May 2019”, the report is of limited circulation and intended for the top Emirati leadership. It does not appear on the think tank’s website. A copy has been obtained by Middle East Eye....

Middle East Eye

Saudi Arabia’s ‘Strategic Plan’ to Take Turkey Down

David Hearst and Ragip Soylu

Col. W. Patrick Lang — — Let the Russians or the Chinese fight over Saudi money, not us!

Mister President, in the patois of your native New York City, pull your head out of your ass concerning the Middle East. The Saudis AND their government are nearly all religious fanatics of the Wahhabi, Sunni variety. The Al- Saud family run an absolute tyranny justified by their defense of the fanatic, medievalist brand of Islam that they live by as well as by the support of tribal groups who keep the Al-Saud secure as they always have.

Wake up! All the world is NOT a market place. Some things that cannot have dollar signs attached to them are more important than money. The men who fought in The Bulge, on Okinawa or in the Ia Drang Valley knew that. Why do you not know that?

Sic Semper Tyrannis
Let the Russians or the Chinese fight over Saudi money, not us!
Col. W. Patrick Lang, US Army (ret.)
At the Defense Intelligence Agency, Lang was the Defense Intelligence Officer (DIO) for the Middle East, South Asia and counter-terrorism, and later, the first Director of the Defense Humint Service. At the DIA, he was a member of the Defense Senior Executive Service. He participated in the drafting of National Intelligence Estimates. From 1992 to 1994, all the U.S. military attachés worldwide reported to him. During that period, he also briefed President George H. W. Bush at the White House, as he had during Operation Desert Storm.

He was also the head of intelligence analysis for the Middle East for seven or eight years at that institution. He was the head of all the Middle East and South Asia analysis in DIA for counter-terrorism for seven years. For his service in the DIA, Lang received the Presidential Rank Award of Distinguished Executive. — Wikipedia

Moon of Alabama — Keeping Bin Salman In Place Will Hurt Trump's Policies

Again, Moon of Alabama comes up with the best analysis to date IMHO.

Moon of Alabama
Keeping Bin Salman In Place Will Hurt Trump's Policies

Col. Pat Lang — The Entry of the Commoner Scapegoats in Wahhabeeland

Human sacrifice to the Trump god.

Sic Semper Tyrannis
The Entry of the Commoner Scapegoats in WahhabeelandCol. W. Patrick Lang, US Army (ret.)

At the Defense Intelligence Agency, Lang was the Defense Intelligence Officer (DIO) for the Middle East, South Asia and counter-terrorism, and later, the first Director of the Defense Humint Service. At the DIA, he was a member of the Defense Senior Executive Service. He participated in the drafting of National Intelligence Estimates. From 1992 to 1994, all the U.S. military attachés worldwide reported to him. During that period, he also briefed President George H. W. Bush at the White House, as he had during Operation Desert Storm.

He was also the head of intelligence analysis for the Middle East for seven or eight years at that institution. He was the head of all the Middle East and South Asia analysis in DIA for counter-terrorism for seven years. For his service in the DIA, Lang received the Presidential Rank Award of Distinguished Executive. — WikipediaMoon of Alabama

 See also

Moon of Alabama
U.S., Al-Sauds Fight Over MbS Advisor - White House Willing To Appease Erdogan

Pepe Escobar — EXCLUSIVE: THE JARED OF ARABIA-BONE SAW CONNECTION

Facebook
EXCLUSIVE: THE JARED OF ARABIA-BONE SAW CONNECTION
Pepe Escobar

UPDATE:

The Hill
Trump believes Kushner relationship with Saudi crown prince a liability: report

Tal Axelrod

Zero Hedge — "His Body Was Badly Swollen" - Chilling Account Of Death, "Coercion And Abuse" At The "Riyadh Ritz-Carlton"

"Liberalization," Saudi style.

Zero Hedge
"His Body Was Badly Swollen" - Chilling Account Of Death, "Coercion And Abuse" At The "Riyadh Ritz-Carlton"
Tyler Durden

Alastair Crooke — Trump’s Saudi Scheme Unravels

President Trump and his son-in-law bet that the young Saudi crown prince could execute a plan to reshape the Mideast, but the scheme quickly unraveled revealing a dangerous amateur hour, writes ex-British diplomat Alastair Crooke.

Consortium News
Trump’s Saudi Scheme Unravels
Alastair Crooke | founder and director of the Conflicts Forum, and former British diplomat and senior figure in British intelligence and in European Union diplomacy

also

The AntiMedia
The Truth About Why Saudi Arabia and Israel Are Really Working Together

Darius Shahtahmasebi

Also

Significant discussions between Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Xi Jinping signals China's intention to deepen cooperation with Saudi Arabia .

Asia Times
China debunks theory Saudi Arabia wants regional war
M.K. Bhadrakumar

David P. Goldman — Saudi Arabia gets its first real government

A couple of years ago I attended seminars with Chinese and Israeli counterterrorism experts in Beijing, in my capacity as a board member of a foundation that promotes Sino-Israel relations. A senior Chinese official complained that the Saudi royal family funds every radical madrassa in Xinjiang province, where Muslim Uyghurs of Turkish ethnicity form the majority. With a long and porous border stretching through sparsely-populated lands, Chinese security couldn’t prevent the funds from pouring in.

I asked our Chinese hosts why they didn’t remonstrate with the Saudi government. The Chinese official said, “We talk to the Saudis all the time, and they say they will have nothing to do with it. But this is not a government. It is a family! Some crazy cousin is always sending money to terrorists through informal finance channels.”

Now it appears that Saudi Arabia has a government, thanks to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s weekend purge of the royal family. It is probably the only political event in recent memory that has the support of Washington, Moscow and Beijing, not to mention Berlin, London, Paris and Tokyo — as well as Jerusalem....

Best analysis yet of what is actually going down in SA. I recommend reading the whole thing. Goldman ties a lot of the apparently loose strings together in a coherent explanation that sounds entirely plausible.

This is a high stakes gamble.

Asia

Saudi Arabia gets its first real government

David P. Goldman, "Spengler"

Also

MoA demurs.

Moon of Alabama
Defeated Elsewhere, Saudi Tyrant Declares War On Lebanon

b

Also

Backgrounder on MBS and the Saudi royal family.

The Vineyard of the Saker
The enigmatic Mohamed Bin Salman

Ghassan Kadi

Pepe Escobar — The inside story of the Saudi night of long knives

War breaks out within the House of Saud, as Asia Times had anticipated back in July. Rumors have been swirling for months about a coup against MBS in the making. Instead, what just happened is yet another MBS pre-emptive coup....

Meanwhile, a pile-up of purges, coups and countercoups shall be the norm....

In a nutshell: a state that happens to be the private property of a royal family inimical to all principles of freedom of expression and religion, as well as the ideological matrix of all forms of Salafi-jihadism simply cannot metastasize into a “moderate” state just because MBS says so.

Asia Times
The inside story of the Saudi night of long knives

Pepe Escobar

SouthFront — Second Saudi Prince Is Dead In 24 Hours: This Time In Firefight With Security Forces

No longer any question of whether there is a purge.

Just hours after the death of Prince Mansour bin Muqrin in a helicopter “crash” in the Saudi province of Asir, the Saudi Royal Court announced the death of Prince Abdul Aziz bin Fahd.

The second prince was reportedly killed during a firefight with security forces, which were attempting to arrest him.

44-year-old Prince Aziz was the youngest son of King Fahd bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. Fahd He died in 2005....

SouthFront

Second Saudi Prince Is Dead In 24 Hours: This Time In Firefight With Security Forces

Ikb22

See also

The ongoing purge in Saudi Arabia for the first time asks a question which has not been asked since the coup of 1964, in which Prince Faisal bin Abdul-Aziz overthrew his brother King Saud and made himself King of Saudi Arabia in Saud’s place: how stable is the Saudi Kingdom?

The short answer is that we do not know, but the situation today appears to be much more serious than it was in 1964.

All in the family.

Useful backgrounder giving the history.

The Duran
Crisis in Saudi Arabia: first shots in a civil war?

Alexander Mercouris

Also

Is MBS actually the good guy?

Mohammed Bin Salman: The Unlikely Anti-Oligarchic Bolshevik?
Andrew Korybko

Also

Was Donald trump in on it?

Zero Hedge
Trump Defends Saudi Actions: "Some Have Been Milking Their Country For Years"

Tyler Durden

Saudi purge continued

Moon of Alabama views this latest move as an indication of weakness rather than strength.

Moon of Alabama
Saudi Arabia - This 'Night Of The Long Knives' Is A Panic-Fueled Move

b

also

Sic Semper Tyrannis
Consolidation of power in RiyadhCol. W. Patrick Lang, US Army (ret.)

At the Defense Intelligence Agency, Lang was the Defense Intelligence Officer (DIO) for the Middle East, South Asia and counter-terrorism, and later, the first Director of the Defense Humint Service. At the DIA, he was a member of the Defense Senior Executive Service. He participated in the drafting of National Intelligence Estimates. From 1992 to 1994, all the U.S. military attachés worldwide reported to him. During that period, he also briefed President George H. W. Bush at the White House, as he had during Operation Desert Storm.

He was also the head of intelligence analysis for the Middle East for seven or eight years at that institution. He was the head of all the Middle East and South Asia analysis in DIA for counter-terrorism for seven years. For his service in the DIA, Lang received the Presidential Rank Award of Distinguished Executive. — Wikipedia

also

Zero Hedge
In Shocking Purge, Saudi King Arrests Billionaire Prince Bin Talal, Dozens Of Others In Cabinet Crackdown

Tyler Durden

also

The Intercept
What Happened in Saudi Arabia Last Night — And How Washington Corruption Enabled It

Ryan Grim

also

The Vineyard of the Saker
The Fall and the Fall of HaririGhassan Kadi

Dictatorial powers, anyone? Oh, right. SA is a monarchy.

Saudi purge underway?

Reuters
Saudi king sacks top ministers, gives more power to crown prince
Reem Shamseddine, Katie Paul

Also

Saudi prince, relieved from National Guard, once seen as throne contender

Katie Paul

The Saudi government arrested dozens of high-ranking figures including princes and current and former ministers in a massive purge under the direction of the crown prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS):…

These arrests are being presented as part of an “anti-corruption” campaign, but they are also unmistakably part of MBS’ ongoing consolidation of power before he ascends to the throne. They follow the crackdown on internal dissidents two months ago. All of this suggests that the crown prince does not feel all that secure in his position, and has been resorting to heavy-handed tactics to ensure that his succession proceeds without incident. Framing the arrests as an “anti-corruption” measure also helps to sell the crown prince as the “reformer” that his Western boosters want to pretend that he is.…

These purges are the work of an ailing king and an insecure and reckless crown prince, and they bode ill for the future stability of Saudi Arabia. That is one more reason why the U.S. should start disentangling itself from the noxious Saudi relationship as soon as possible.

Also

The American Conservative

The Saudi purges

Daniel Larison

Also

Econospeak
Saudi Crown Prince Consolidates Power With Anti-Corruption Arrests
J. Barkley Rosser | Professor of Economics and Business Administration James Madison University

Moon of Alabama — Lebanon - Hariri's Resignation - The Opening Shot Of The Saudi War On Hizbullah

More twists and turns in the snake pit. Here we go again.

Yesterday [Lebanese Prime Minister] Hariri was visited in Beirut by Ali Velayati, a top advisor of the supreme leader Khamenei of Iran. The Saudis did not like either. Thamer's plan was set into motion. They sent a private jet and hauled Hariri to Riyadh. There the Saudi clown prince Mohammad bin Salman gave Hariri his resignation statement (written by Thamer?) to be read by him on Saudi TV. 

Irony alert: The Lebanese PM (with a Saudi passport) resigns on order of Saudi Arabia, in Saudi Arabia, on Saudi Arabian TV. In his Saudi written resignation statement (excerpts) he accuses Iran of foreign meddling in Lebanese politics. 

(Hariri also suddenly claims that there was an assassination planned against him in Lebanon. This is nonsense. The Lebanese internal security organization says it has no knowledge of such a plot. Hariri needs an excuse to stay away from Lebanon and from the wrath of his followers. Saudi media are trying to create some fantastic story from that assassination claim. But there is nothing evident to back it up.)

Moon of Alabama
Lebanon - Hariri's Resignation - The Opening Shot Of The Saudi War On Hizbullah

b

See also

Fort Russ
"US and Saudi Arabia forced the Lebanese PM to resign in an attempt to counter Hezbollah" - Iranian official
Breakingnews.sy - - translated by Samer Hussein

Also at Fort Russ:

Expert: Hariri's resignation is a sign that Saudis and U.S-Israel are pursuing a disastrous 'Plan B'

Analysis by Marwa Osman, Lecturer at the Lebanese International University and Maaref University and former host of the political show “The Middle East Stream”

The Western version:

Reuters
Lebanon PM Hariri resigns, assails Iran and Hezbollah
Angus McDowall, Tom Perry, Sarah Dadouch

Also

Israel is operating militarily within Syria.

Israel’s military said on Friday it was ready to protect a frontier village in Syria held by the Syrian government, where Damascus said jihadist rebels exploded a car killing at least nine people.

The statement was an unusually explicit Israeli pledge to intervene in the war in Syria, where Israeli officials are voicing deeper alarm at the role of Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah, which are fighting alongside the Syrian government.


The Israeli air force says it has struck arms convoys of the Syrian military and Hezbollah nearly 100 times in recent years. Its most recent strike was on Wednesday according to the Syrian government.

Reuters

Israeli military says ready to protect Druze village in Syria

Zero Hedge In Shocking, Viral Interview, Qatar Confesses Secrets Behind Syrian War

A television interview of a top Qatari official confessing the truth behind the origins of the war in Syria is going viral across Arabic social media during the same week a leaked top secret NSA document was published which confirms that the armed opposition in Syria was under the direct command of foreign governments from the early years of the conflict.

And according to a well-known Syria analyst and economic adviser with close contacts in the Syrian government, the explosive interview constitutes a high level "public admission to collusion and coordination between four countries to destabilize an independent state, [including] possible support for Nusra/al-Qaeda." Importantly, "this admission will help build case for what Damascus sees as an attack on its security & sovereignty. It will form basis for compensation claims."

As the war in Syria continues slowly winding down, it seems new source material comes out on an almost a weekly basis in the form of testimonials of top officials involved in destabilizing Syria, and even occasional leaked emails and documents which further detail covert regime change operations against the Assad government. Though much of this content serves to confirm what has already long been known by those who have never accepted the simplistic propaganda which has dominated mainstream media, details continue to fall in place, providing future historians with a clearer picture of the true nature of the war.

This process of clarity has been aided - as predicted - by the continued infighting among Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) former allies Saudi Arabia and Qatar, with each side accusing the other of funding Islamic State and al-Qaeda terrorists (ironically, both true). Increasingly, the world watches as more dirty laundry is aired and the GCC implodes after years of nearly all the gulf monarchies funding jihadist movements in places like Syria, Iraq, and Libya....

"Shocking" refers to the admission rather than the events, which were widely suspected, with some evidence already available.

Now that the war seems to be winding down, the question of who is going to pay to rebuild Syria arises. Syria will be seeking compensation.

Zero Hedge

In Shocking, Viral Interview, Qatar Confesses Secrets Behind Syrian War
Tyler Durden

The Intercept — NSA Document Says Saudi Prince Directly Ordered Coordinated Attack By Syrian Rebels On Damascus

A loosely knit collection of Syrian rebel fighters set up positions on March 18, 2013, and fired several barrages of rockets at targets in the heart of Damascus, Bashar al-Assad’s capital. The attack was a brazen show of force by rebels under the banner of the Free Syrian Army, targeting the presidential palace, Damascus International Airport, and a government security compound. It sent a chilling message to the regime about its increasingly shaky hold on the country, two years after an uprising against its rule began.

Behind the attacks, the influence of a foreign power loomed. According to a top-secret National Security Agency document provided by whistleblower Edward Snowden, the March 2013 rocket attacks were directly ordered by a member of the Saudi royal family, Prince Salman bin Sultan, to help mark the second anniversary of the Syrian revolution. Salman had provided 120 tons of explosives and other weaponry to opposition forces, giving them instructions to “light up Damascus” and “flatten” the airport, the document, produced by U.S. government surveillance on Syrian opposition factions, shows.

The Intercept

NSA Document Says Saudi Prince Directly Ordered Coordinated Attack By Syrian Rebels On Damascus
Murtaza Hussai

Kent Moors — The Geopolitical Consequences Of U.S. Oil Exports

Two crucial things happened yesterday.

The first you may have noticed – oil prices moved back up.

As for the second, most so-called “experts” seemed to have missed.

See, the environment we’re seeing in energy markets is very different from what we saw only a week ago, when oil prices were also rising.

Because yesterday also saw – for the first time in world history – a reigning Saudi Arabian monarch in Moscow for talks with Russia’s head of state.

Historically, Russia has been much closer to Iran – Saudi Arabia’s main regional enemy.…
The advantage to American producers is simple. Exporting oil that costs less to produce at home into markets were the oil price is higher is a direct route to improving bottom lines.

As long as this situation remains, there will be additional U.S. production coming, because it’s profitable to extract and export.

And the more U.S. oil is exported, the less immediate effect higher production here has on domestic prices.

But this is also resulting in changes to foreign expectations. Some of these are having spillover effects in other quarters…

Including sending Saudi Arabia and Russia into each other’s arms…

Why did the Saudi king visit Russia personally. It's the only way that he and Putin could guarantee a secure conversation. No doubt US intelligence is wondering what they said to each others and agreed upon.

Oil Price
The Geopolitical Consequences Of U.S. Oil Exports

Kent Moors

SouthFront — US Responds to Alleged Riyadh-Moscow S-400 Systems Deal, Approves THAAD Systems Sale to Saudi Arabia

Business is business, after all. Gotta compete.

Best line: "The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region." — US State Department

SouthFront
US Responds to Alleged Riyadh-Moscow S-400 Systems Deal, Approves THAAD Systems Sale to Saudi Arabia

also

Reuters
U.S. approves possible $15 billion sale of THAAD missiles to Saudi Arabi