In Fight Against U.S. Shale Oil, OPEC Risks Lower for Longer
- Saudi Arabia signals curbs will be rolled into next year
- Oil market attention shifts to potential oversupply in 2018
OPEC Risks Lower for Longer
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When Khalid Al-Falih arrived at Davos in late January, the Saudi oil minister was exultant. The output cuts he’d painstakingly arranged with fellow OPEC states and Russia were working so well, he said, they could probably be phased out by June.
Almost five months later, U.S. production is rising faster than anyone predicted and his plan has been shredded. In a series of phone calls and WhatsApp messages late last week, Al-Falih told his fellow ministers more was needed, according to people briefed on the talks, asking not to be named because the conversations are private.