Judging the Saudi-Russia Oil Freeze Comes Down to Binoculars
- 50-year-old tanker-tracking system key to measuring results
- At stake is a push by big producers to manage crude prices
What Saudi-Russia Oil Deal Means for Markets
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Judging the supply of the world’s most important commodity often comes down to a good set of binoculars.
In a world of Twitter, iPhones and instant information, determining how much oil is pumped by global producers is a moving target. It relies on a 50-year-old tanker-tracking system to help offset national interests that can shroud the data in secrecy and deceit. The problem: Competing analysis of that data often results in different outcomes.