Saudi Arabia: A Failing Kingdom -- March 1, 2016

A reader sent me this link. I haven't had a chance to read this thoroughly but it looks like one of those articles that if you have any interest in geo-politics, and you have time to read only one article tonight or Wednesday, this may be the article. Archived, because this is the kind of article that sometimes gets lost.

Link here: http://www.mauldineconomics.com/download/saudi-arabia-a-failing-kingdom.

A reader sent this graphic to me. Based on the date of Brent in the original graphic, I assume this data was prepared back in 2014. I have added a thicker red line showing the futures price for March, 2016, Brent oil, from this source.

 

My hunch is that with all the commitments Saudi Arabia has accrued since 2014; the amount of money it has lost; the war in Yemen; the fact it cannot rely on the US any more and needs to beef up its security, etc., etc. that $104 figure might be a tad higher now.

Venezuela is a basket case now, of course, and whatever price oil goes to in the near future isn't going to come close to helping Venezuela.

Libya is a failed nation. One must assume that much of its income from oil is unaccounted for and ends up in bank accounts overseas.

 

Iran? Who knows? It appears they can get along without selling any oil? LOL.