The Art Of War
“I have no doubt in my mind that U.S. shale will peak, plateau and then decline like every other basin in history,” Al-Falih told reporters at OPEC’s Vienna headquarters. “Until it does I think it’s prudent for those of us who have a lot at stake, and also for us who want to protect the global economy and provide visibility going forward, to keep adjusting to it.”
Translation: 'OPEC intends to cut it's oil production levels and keep worldwide oil prices 'just' high enough to allow the US shale oil industry to drill itself into almost total depletion while getting deeper and deeper in debt. For those in the world who think we are stupid in the Middle East, that is not true. We see that the Permian Basin, itself a desert, will carry the brunt of America's shale oil growth and are stunned at the decline rates of those shale wells and the number of new ones it takes every year just to maintain current production levels. Where is all that water, and all that money coming from? It is totally baffling to us how Americans cannot control their spending habits and not want to conserve some of their oil resources for the future, like we are at OPEC.
We intend to "adjust" to American shale oil until it is mostly all gone, then we at OPEC will be able to name our own oil price. That is our long term plan and we are on schedule. Thanks, America. Like the Chinese dude, Tzu, once said...
"When your enemy is in the process of destroying itself, stay out of its way." '
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"We have unlimited hydrocarbon resources in America. We will dominate the entire world with cheap, abundant shale oil exports for decades to come."
President Donald J. Trump
Translation: I hail from New York; I know absolutely jack shit about about oil and natural gas. I've never even seen a drilling rig. People around me, like Rick and Harold, tell me America has 100 years of oil left and I hear breakeven prices in the Permian Basin are $20 per barrel; those shale guys are making plenty of money. My advice to them is borrow, baby, borrow, drill, baby, drill. Don't worry about money, or flaring, I got you covered. Like I once tweeted...
"Looks like OPEC is at it again. Oil prices are artificially Very High! No good and will not be accepted!"