If Oil Prices Continue To Decline OPEC Is Considering An Emergency Meeting

CNBC/Financial Times: Oil slide could trigger Opec emergency meeting

Members of Opec have discussed holding an emergency meeting if crude continues to slide, according to Nigeria’s oil minister, in a sign of their growing alarm over the impact of a lower oil price on their economies.

The comments by Diezani Alison-Madueke come three months after the cartel’s decision to hold production at 30m barrels a day, even as the oil price has plunged since mid-June.

WNU Editor: No complaints from here on oil price declines. I live in Canada .... and even though it has been a super-cold winter .... I have easily save a few hundred bucks on my heating bill when compared to last year.

More News On Reports That If Oil Prices Continue To Decline OPEC Is Considering An Emergency Meeting

REPORT: OPEC might have an emergency meeting over low oil prices -- Business Insider
Nigeria will call emergency OPEC meeting if oil rout continues -FT -- Reuters
OPEC may call emergency meeting as oil slides again: Financial Times -- Edmonton Journal
Global Oil Glut Continues As US & OPEC Production Grows -- FX Empire

Venezuela Pushes OPEC For Higher Oil Prices

Deputy Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Prince Muqrin bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, right, receives Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2015. (Saudi Press Agency)

AP: Venezuela, Saudi Leaders Meet and Talk Oil Prices in Riyadh

WNU Editor: What Venezuela wants is Saudi Arabia to cut back its production (while keeping their own production levels). My prediction .... Saudi Arabia is not going to "bow" to their demands. And as for Venezuela .... their problem is even more complicated .... they do not have enough buyers who want to refine their type of "heavy and dirty" oil .... Venezuela's Oil Falls to $42.44 (Marine Link).

More News On Venezuela Pushing OPEC For Higher Oil Prices

Venezuela’s Maduro seeks support from Saudi Arabia on oil prices -- G&M/Reuters
Venezuela's Maduro in OPEC kingpin Saudi for talks -- AFP
Venezuela president visits Saudi Arabia to hold talks over oil price slump -- Press TV
Venezuela’s Maduro in Saudi Arabia for talks -- Al Arabiya/AFP
Iran vows to help Venezuela to stem oil price fall -- Reuters
Iranian, Venezuelan Leaders Pledge Cooperation On Low Oil Prices -- Radio Free Europe
Iran and Venezuela Push OPEC to Stabilize Falling Oil Prices -- NYT/AP

OPEC Decides Against Output Cuts

Oil Prices Plummet As OPEC Decides Against Output Cut -- USA Today

VIENNA — Oil prices fell sharply Thursday after the powerful oil collective OPEC said it would't intervene in global markets and cut production levels to stem oil prices that have fallen 30% since June.

Saudi Arabia's oil minister Ali Al-Naimi delivered the news as he left a meeting of the cartel in Vienna.

Crude oil prices plummeted 2.7% to $72.61 a barrel following the annoucement. In June, prices were as high as $115 a barrel.

Energy ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, led by Saudi Arabia, are in Austria against the backdrop of oil prices that are at their their lowest levels in four years. That drop is partly a result of output that is running ahead of demand. It is also being driven by a boom in shale production in the United States.

Read more ....

More News On OPEC Deciding To Not Cut Its Production Quotas

OPEC Leaves Oil Production Quotas Unchanged, and Prices Fall Further -- New York Times
OPEC: No cut in oil production and prices keep falling -- CNN
OPEC Takes No Action to Ease Supply Glut as Crude Oil Slumps -- Bloomberg
Saudis win case for no OPEC output cut -- Reuters
OPEC Leaves Production Target Unchanged -- WSJ
Opec leaves oil output unchanged -- BBC
Oil falls $3 to 4-year low after OPEC leaves output unchanged -- Reuters

OPEC Members Prepare To Meet As Oil Prices Continue To Drop

This Week’s OPEC Meeting Is The Most Important In Years -- Washington Post

For most of the past four years, OPEC has had an easy time.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries hasn’t had to do much to keep oil prices over $100 a barrel. Disruptions in supply — most notably the Libyan civil war — and rising demand have kept the cartel’s coffers full. It has been, say Barclays’ commodities analysts, the culmination of OPEC’s “golden age.”

Is that golden age ending? High prices are often the seeds of their own destruction, providing incentives for new developments and alternatives. Now, over the past three months, global oil production has been outrunning consumption. The price of OPEC’s mix of crude oil has tumbled $32, or 30 percent, to the lowest level since 2012. And suddenly the 12-member group is bickering over who should cut oil output, and by how much, in order to prop up prices.

Read more ....

More News On OPEC Members Preparing To Meet As Oil Prices Continue To Drop

Ahead of OPEC meeting, crude oil sinks to another multi-year low -- USA Today
Its Grip on Oil Weakening, OPEC Will Meet on Prices -- NYT
OPEC Members Nearing Compromise on Supply Cuts -- WSJ
Saudi, Russia pre-OPEC talks yield no oil output cut -- Reuters
Oil steadies below $79 as market doubts OPEC cut -- Reuters
As OPEC faces tough test, lower oil prices loom -- AP
WTI Oil Trades Near 4-Year Low as OPEC Sends Mixed Signal -- Bloomberg
Oil down 2 pct as pre-OPEC talks don't lead to output cut -- Reuters
Oil Volatility Here to Stay Regardless of OPEC Decision -- Inyoung Hwang and Jonathan Morgan
At OPEC Meeting, Saudi Arabia Stares Down Texas and North Dakota -- Matthew Philips, Bloomberg Businessweek
Will Opec cut oil production? -- Andrew Walker, BBC

A Critical Week For OPEC And The Price Of Oil

All Eyes On Oil: What Will OPEC Do This Week? -- CNN Money

While Americans are chomping down on turkey and pie this week, everyone involved in the energy world will be closely watching the Thanksgiving Day meeting of the OPEC in Vienna, Austria.

Oil prices have tumbled dramatically in recent weeks. Oil now trades below $80 a barrel and most Americans can buy gas for their cars for under $3 a gallon.

The question is how OPEC will respond. So far, energy producing nations and companies haven't scaled back product even though it's pretty clear there's an over supply of oil on the world market.

Experts who follow OPEC and the oil market closely are evenly split over in their bets on whether OPEC will vote to cut product. It will almost certainly come down to Saudi Arabia, which has refused to scale back production because it wants to squeeze its regional nemesis Iran, which is reeling from sanctions over its nuclear program.

Read more ....

More News On OPEC And The Price Of Oil

OPEC divided on oil output before crucial meeting -- Arab News
OPEC to take decision to promote stabilization of oil prices - Kuwaiti expert -- ITAR-TASS
Iran to push for Saudi oil output cut at OPEC - Mehr news agency -- Reuters
Iran seeks cut in Saudi oil output to boost price -- Irish Times
Iran May Propose Million-Barrel Daily OPEC Cut in Saudi Talks -- Bloomberg
Russia-Iran oil talks likely in OPEC meeting in Vienna -- Mehr News
OPEC giant split set to occur at next meeting -- Market Business News
US oil imports from Opec at 30-year low -- Financial Times
OPEC's Easy Days Setting Oil Production Are Over, Veteran Says; You Need Russia, Norway, Mexico -- Bloomberg
Winners And Losers Of Oil War – OpEd -- Shabbir H. Kazmi, Eurasia Review
OPEC's clout on line as decisive meeting looms -- Rick Jervis, USA TODAY
Why Crude Oil $80 Is the New Normal, Reasons Saudi Arabia Will Not “Swing” -- Market Oracle
Infographic: Meet the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) members -- USA Today

My Comment: This is what is scaring OPEC members right now .... Oil price seen falling to $60 if OPEC does not cut output (Reuters).

OPEC And Russia Remain Divided On Oil Output And Market Share

Iran Vows To Guard Oil-Market Share As OPEC To Review Output -- Fuel Fix

Iran will protect its share of global crude sales under all circumstances, Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said, as OPEC members prepare to meet next week to review production levels.

The Persian Gulf nation can double oil exports in two months if sanctions against are removed, Zanganeh said, according to the ministry’s news website Shana.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will gather on Nov. 27 in Vienna to assess its collective output amid a supply glut and a 30 percent drop in prices this year. Iran’s crude output has languished under international economic sanctions that deter foreign energy investors and limit its exports to approximately 1 million barrels a day.

“Under no circumstance will Iran decrease its share of the global market, not even by one barrel,” Shana cited him as saying.

Read more ....

Update: Russia to Cooperate With Saudis on Oil, Avoiding Output Cuts -- Bloomberg

My Comment: Bottom line .... expect the price for oil to remain low.

Update #2: This is an interesting read .... Saudi Arabia Is Fighting an Oil War. But Who’s the Enemy? (Joshua Keating, Slate).

OPEC's Weaker Members Are Feeling The Pinch As Oil Prices Continue To Plunge

OPEC’s Weak Links Feeling Pain --Fuel Fix

Here’s why the U.S. shale upstarts just might win a confrontation with Saudi Arabia as oil sinks: While the Arab nation is as flush with cash as ever, the finances of some fellow OPEC members are deteriorating quickly.

Venezuela, for example, has burned through billions of dollars, leaving its foreign reserves near a decade-low, to stave off default. In Nigeria, officials are struggling to stem a selloff in the currency that has left it at a record low.

Those financial strains have Venezuela calling for action to prevent further declines in oil prices while a Libyan representative said the 12-member Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries should cut its output target. When executives at American shale companies talk about having more staying power in a price war than some of the Saudis’ partners, these countries, along with places like Ecuador and Iran, are the key weak links in question.

Read more ....

My Comment: Some are speculating that the fall in oil prices will not impact countries like Iran or Russia .... Falling Oil Prices May Not Pressure Iran, Russia (Al Pessin, VOA) .... but I disagree. All of these countries have factored high oil prices in their budgets .... any decline in revenues will be accompanied by cuts in services and commitments. And while countries like Russia and Iran may be able to coast during these times by cutting back on commitments .... countries like Venezuela, Nigeria, and Libya will be facing an economic nightmare if this trend continues.