Thursday, October 6, 2022

OPEC+’s oil cuts signal a new world order — Philip Pilkington

The reality is that the decision to cut production is completely rational from the point-of-view of OPEC+. With interest rates rising quickly and growth slowing, Europe, which makes up around 19% of total oil consumption, is almost certainly facing down a serious recession next year. There is also a risk that the United States and Canada will fall into recession at the same time — these countries make up a further 27% of total consumption.

OPEC+ does not want to see history repeat itself. In the 2008 recession, European oil prices fell from just over $140 a barrel to just under $40 a barrel — a massive decline of over 71%. So, the likely reason that they are cutting production is to try to firm up the market in case there is economic turbulence ahead....

Decolonization

Once it starts, it can cascade quickly. Has the West overplayed its hand?

Unherd
OPEC+’s oil cuts signal a new world order
Philip Pilkington

See also

East Asia Forum
Gulf states go digital with China
Mordechai Chaziza

13 comments:

Peter Pan said...

No understanding that Canada and the US are energy self-sufficient. Also energy hogs.

Butch Busselle said...

Like Mike said, exporting U.S. gas is the dumbest thing going. Out gov't "should" be responsible to domestic needs first and foremost.

Butch Busselle said...

Our... duh

Matt Franko said...

Saudis own the largest refinery in the US, Motiva Refinery in Port Arthur Texas....

So Saudis "import" crude to the US, refine it at Port Arthur and then "export" the refined product to Europe and are making a fortune...

so it shows up in the "US" "export/import" numbers but the whole thing is a Saudi scam....

Matt Franko said...

https://twitter.com/killingswitch98/status/1578130354711527445?s=61&t=ZLRCuX2jJ2UNcuBeMTZAjg

boy, good thing the Saudis put their largest refinery on planet earth in TX a US right to work state... :p

Peter Pan said...

Keep the focus on OPEC... not on the domestic oil industry making money hand over fist...

Ahmed Fares said...

Saudi Arabia is awarded the right to host the 2029 Asian Winter Games at a £440bn futuristic megacity in the DESERT... despite the venue not being expected to be built until 2026, as the Arab state continues to increase its involvement in sport

Incidentally, the average IQ in Saudi Arabia is 84 which is borderline mental retardation. Bear in mind that as an average, half are even dumber than that.

What is the average IQ in Saudi Arabia?

Borderline intellectual functioning

Borderline intellectual functioning, also called borderline mental retardation (in the ICD-8), is a categorization of intelligence wherein a person has below average cognitive ability (generally an IQ of 70–85), but the deficit is not as severe as intellectual disability (below 70). It is sometimes called below average IQ (BAIQ). This is technically a cognitive impairment; however, this group may not be sufficiently mentally disabled to be eligible for specialized services.

Ahmed Fares said...

re: sportwashing

Learned a new term today, also known as "reputation laundering". From the article above:

The Arab nation has faced significant criticism that the country is sportswashing by using high-profile sporting events to improve its worldwide image and divert attention away from its human-rights record.

Recall the recent golfing scandal with the Saudis...

Sportswashing is a term used to criticize the practice of individuals, groups, corporations, or governments using sports to improve reputations tarnished by wrongdoing. Sportswashing can be accomplished through hosting sporting events, purchasing or sponsoring sporting teams, or participating in a sport. At the international level, it is believed that sportswashing has been used to direct attention away from poor human rights records and corruption scandals. At the individual and corporate levels, it is believed that sportswashing has been used to cover up vices, crimes, and scandals. Sportswashing is an example of reputation laundering. —Wikipedia

A few days, I ran across the term "pinkwashing". That's like when Israel says they're really pro-gay, so you don't think about their abuses against the Palestinians.

Pinkwashing is the strategy of promoting LGBT rights protections as evidence of liberalism and democracy, especially to distract from or legitimize violence against other countries or communities, often to improve a country's tarnished reputation. The concept has been used by Sarah Schulman in 2011 with reference to Israeli government public relations, and is related to homonationalism, the exploitation of sexual minorities to justify racism and xenophobia. Pinkwashing is a continuation of the civilizing mission used to justify colonialism, this time on the basis of LGBT rights in Western countries.

Pinkwashing (LGBT)

There's of course "greenwashing", also known as "green sheen". Corporations do a lot of that.

Ahmed Fares said...

John Travolta hanging out with The Saudi Butcher MbS' top court advisor and BFF. The Saudis are now reduced to buying photo ops with Hollywood celebs to rehabilitate their image. Travolta, you cheap whore. —Sharmine Narwani on Twitter

[Sharmine Narwani is a Beirut-based writer and analyst of West Asian geopolitics, and a columnist at The Cradle. Her work has been published in a broad array of media outlets, including The American Conservative, Russia Today, The New York Times, USA Today, The Guardian, Al-Akhbar English, Assafir, Huffington Post, BRICS Post, Salon.com, Al Jazeera and others. She is cited in many publications for her groundbreaking, investigative coverage of the Syrian conflict.]

Matt Franko said...

This whole “washing!” figure of speech is a joke.,,

Saudis own 100% of Shell gasoline gas stations in the US they bought them from royal dutch years ago….

Any of these “washing!” people ever buy gas at a Shell station?

Peter Pan said...

Biggest greenwashing was in biofuels. From ethanol to wood pellets.

Ahmed Fares said...

The Iowa Caucus. They vote first.

Since 1972, the Iowa Caucus has been the first—and some argue most important—electoral test on the road to each party’s presidential nomination. But how did it get that way?

If you run for president, you have to support ethanol.

One of the rare times that U.S. ethanol—the biofuel made mostly from corn—takes the national stage is during the Iowa Caucus in a presidential election year. Close to half of the corn grown in Iowa goes to ethanol production, according to the Iowa Corn Growers Association,

Over the past month, many of the presidential candidates, both Republican and Democrat, have toured the state and taken pro-ethanol stances as they look for both voter and industry support.


I've read that it takes more energy to get ethanol than what you get from using it, i.e., net energy negative.

Peter Pan said...

Ethanol made from sugar cane is more efficient to produce than corn based ethanol.

I'll look up their EROI when I'm in the mood.