If it's a rhetorical question, and I'm sure it is, fine; but if Anas really does not know, he's not reading the blog. LOL. Yes, he knows.
But there are at least two story lines in that graphic. An answer with "restraint" in it is not an answer at all. If true, that this is due to "restraint," why the "restraint"?
Additional observations:
- the first trend back in 2016 - 2017:
- whatever the reason, it came after the trillion-dollar-Saudi mistake, the Saudi surge, 2014 - 2016, and then Saudi's response
- one can argue that the first trend identified is simply nothing more than it takes a bit of time for the rig count to catch with reality
- same thing with the 2020 - 2022: it takes awhile for the rig count to catch up with reality, and there are multiple reasons why it takes awhile for the rig count to catch up
- apparently, the difference between the two periods; the price of oil plateaued before the rig count caught up; in the second period, the current period, the price of oil continues to rise quickly despite the rig count rising, and then inexplicably (for some) the rig count seems to be plateauing
