#OPEC Oil

[politicoscope]

Nigeria LNG to EU Declared 'Force Majeure'

Nigeria LNG to EU Declared ‘Force Majeure’

A major Nigerian energy company says it cannot deliver natural gas as promised in its contracts after deadly flooding hindered its operations, raising concerns about whether Africa’s largest economy can meet increased local and international demands during an energy crisis provoked by Russia’s war in Ukraine. Nigeria LNG Limited, or NLNG, declared a “force majeure” this week, meaning it is unable…

[egnaroo]

OPEC+ cutting 2 million barrels a day despite Biden warning, what is the outlook for the global economy and looming crisis

OPEC+ cutting 2 million barrels a day despite Biden warning, what is the outlook for the global economy and looming crisis

According to interviews with about a dozen government officials and experts in Washington and the Gulf, the OPEC+ organization’s decision this week to cut oil production despite strong U.S. opposition has further strained already tense relations between President Joe Biden’s White House and Saudi Arabia’s royal family, once one of Washington’s staunchest Middle East allies. Many American…

[dontmean2bepoliticalbut]

[izooks]

Mr Global explains gas prices under the Biden and Trump administrations. If you think Trump is going to get you cheaper gas, you’re dumber than you look, because of Trump we lost oil companies driving. The price is higher. Pay attention to where you get your information it’s critical to making the RIGHT decision. 

[hezigler]

How Joe Biden 'broke OPEC' and rewrote the rules for oil trading.

[memenewsdotcom]

OPEC+ agrees to oil cuts

[workersolidarity]

🏭 OPEC ANNOUNCES FURTHER OIL PRODUCTION CUTS OF 2.2 MILLION BARRELS PER DAY

The OPEC Secretariat, on Thursday November 30th, noted the announcement of several OPEC countries of additional voluntary cuts amounting to a total of 2.2 million barrels a day, aimed at "supporting the stability and balance of oil markets."

Production cuts were calculated from the 2024 required production level as set on June 4th, 2023, and are in addition to the voluntary cuts announced in April and extended through the end of 2024.

Production cuts are being announced by the following countries:

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia: 1'000 thousand barrels per day

🇮🇶 Iraq: 223 thousand barrels per day

🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates: 163 thousand barrels per day

🇰🇼 Kuwait: 135 thousand barrels per day

🇰🇿 Kazakhstan: 82 thousand barrels per day

🇩🇿 Algeria: 51 thousand barrels per day

🇴🇲 Oman: 42 thousand barrels per day

Starting January 1st until the end of March 2024. Afterwards, these voluntary cuts will be returned gradually, subject to market conditions.

The above amounts will be in addition to those announced by the Russian Federation of 500 thousand barrels per day for the same period, which will be made from the average export levels of the months May and June of 2023, and will consist of 300 thousand barrels per day of crude oil and 200 thousand barrels per day of refined products.

#source

@WorkerSolidarityNews

[dontmeantobepoliticalbut]

U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna on Wednesday urged the Biden administration to cut off sales of weaponry and crucial plane parts to Saudi Arabia as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries—a cartel led by the Saudis—agreed to slash oil production in a bid to prop up falling prices, a move that could inflict more pain on American consumers.

"President Biden should make it clear that we will stop supplying the Saudis with weapons and air parts if they fleece the American people and strengthen [Russian President Vladimir] Putin by making drastic production cuts," Khanna (D-Calif.) told The Washington Post in an interview as OPEC members met in Vienna.

"They need us far more than we need them," Khanna added.

The Biden White House launched a pressure campaign earlier this week in a last-ditch bid to stop OPEC from cutting supply, characterizing such a move as a "hostile act."

But the administration's efforts failed. On Wednesday, OPEC members agreed to slash their combined production by two million barrels a day, the largest supply cut since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.

Saudi Arabia is the second-largest oil producer in the world behind the U.S., and the Biden administration has sought cooperation from the kingdom's murderous leaders as Russia's war on Ukraine continues to rattle global energy markets, elevating prices for consumers. While not a formal OPEC member, Russia—the world's third-largest oil producer—often works with the international cartel.

In July, U.S. President Joe Biden held a widely condemned meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to discuss the global oil supply, among other issues.

The White House has warned an OPEC production cut could reverse the large and consistent declines in U.S. gas prices over the past several months, just in time for the pivotal midterm elections. Expectations of a production cut have already driven oil prices up significantly in recent days.

"We've been clear that energy supply should meet demand to support economic growth and lower prices for consumers around the world and we will continue to talk with our partners about that," White House National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement Tuesday.

Khanna, a progressive seen by some as a future presidential candidate, is a longtime critic of the Saudi regime—particularly its devastating assault on Yemen. He has been pushing the White House in recent days to respond forcefully to any OPEC production cut.

"It's outrageous. The Saudis need to be dealt with harshly," Khanna told CNN in an interview earlier this week. "They are a third-rate power. We are the most powerful country in the world. I don't know why we kowtow to them."

"They are not our allies," the California Democrat added. "They are hurting the American people. And we need to be tough with them. The President needs to make it clear we will cut off their supply. We could ground their air force in a day."

Sen. Bernie Sanders on Wednesday called for an end to U.S. military aid to Saudi Arabia after the kingdom and other major oil-producing nations agreed to slash output by two million barrels a day, a move that could significantly drive up gas prices worldwide as a global recession looms.

In a social media post, Sanders (I-Vt.) denounced the Saudi-led OPEC cartel over its "blatant attempt to increase gas prices at the pump," which he said "cannot stand."

"We must end OPEC's illegal price-fixing cartel, eliminate military assistance to Saudi Arabia, and move aggressively to renewable energy," the Senator added.

Sanders was one of several members of the U.S. Democratic caucus who responded with outrage to OPEC and Russia's decision, which is set to take effect in November as the midterm elections kick off.

Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) announced Wednesday that he will be reintroducing legislation instructing U.S. officials to "initiate dispute proceedings" against OPEC members at the World Trade Organization for violating the body's price-manipulation rules.

"As we build our clean energy future, we must stand up to the oil-soaked global cartel that seeks to abuse its power to raise prices and boost their profits," Markey said in a statement. "Today's OPEC announcement is a reminder that as long as the United States is dependent on foreign oil and on domestic oil that is priced on a global market, the supply and cost of the energy Americans use to operate our cars, heat our homes, and power our economy is reliant on decisions made by and for hostile fossil-fueled regimes."

"We must hold OPEC and its allies accountable for colluding to hike energy prices on working families," Markey added, "and we must accelerate our transition to clean energy to free ourselves from their profiteering, colluding grip once and for all."

Reps. Tom Malinowski (D-N.J.), Sean Casten (D-Ill.), and Susan Wild (D-Pa.), meanwhile, unveiled legislation that would require the removal of U.S. troops and missile defense systems from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), another OPEC member.

"Saudi Arabia and the UAE's drastic cut in oil production, despite President Biden's overtures to both countries in recent months, is a hostile act against the United States and a clear signal that they have chosen to side with Russia in its war against Ukraine," the House Democrats said in a joint statement Wednesday.

"Both countries have long relied on an American military presence in the Gulf to protect their security and oil fields," the trio added. "We see no reason why American troops and contractors should continue to provide this service to countries that are actively working against us."

The Biden White House has thus far indicated that it is considering a number of policy responses to "reduce OPEC's control over energy prices"—signaling a possible revival of NOPEC legislation—but the administration hasn't specifically said it would target U.S. military assistance to the Saudis.

According to a recent study by the Government Accountability Office, the Pentagon delivered at least $54.6 billion of military aid to Saudi Arabia and the UAE between fiscal years 2015 and 2021, support that included missiles, helicopters, and bombs.

The U.S. has also spent hundreds of millions of dollars in recent years refueling Saudi and UAE jets as they attacked Yemen, sparking a humanitarian catastrophe that continues in the present.

Despite the President's campaign pledge to make the kingdom a "pariah" over its assassination of Jamal Khashoggi, the Biden administration has continued to approve massive weapons sales to the Saudis, including a multibillion-dollar sale of missiles in August. A month earlier, Reuters reported that the Biden administration was considering lifting its ban on "offensive" weapons sales to the Saudis.

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) has been vocally pressing the Biden administration to halt U.S. military support for Saudi Arabia in response to OPEC's coming production cut, blasting the petrostate as a "third-rate power" that is "hurting the American people."

On Wednesday, Khanna co-authored an op-ed calling for an end to "missile and weapons system sales Saudi so desperately needs."

"By siding with Russia in hiking oil prices and sabotaging our economy," Khanna and two others wrote, "the Saudis have really outfoxed themselves this time—it was a time for choosing, and they picked the wrong side."

[tomorrowusa]

The annual rate of inflation is down to 8.2% in September from 9.1% in June in the US.

After a slight decline for one month, the inflation rate is headed back up in the UK according to UK - Office for National Statistics.

Blame neo-Thatcherite policies of the Conservative Party and their counterproductive fixation on Brexit. Highly nationalistic policies are just not that great for the economy. Growth does not happen in a vacuum.

Russia is the second largest oil producer in the world after the US. Putin has been trying to help Trump Republicans by getting OPEC+ to reduce production in order to raise gas prices in the United States. Putin thinks that by having Trump vassal Kevin McCarthy as House speaker he can slow down US aide to Ukraine.

So don’t fall for Putin at the pump. Carbon-friendly alternatives will eventually undermine dictators like Putin and the Saudi theocracy who rely on income from fossil fuels to remain in power and oppress their populations. Reducing use of carbon-based fuels is good for the climate and good for democracy.

You want inflation to come down more? Elect a Congress which will end all the Trump tax breaks for the filthy rich and invest that money in climate-friendly technologies in the US.

[uboat53]

Well, the 2022 midterm elections are less than a month away (make sure you're registered to vote, there's still time in many states! https://www.vote.org) and I wanted to take a look at something that's sure to come up.

You see, OPEC, the internation oil cartel, just voted to reduce the amount of oil it produces. This has increased gas prices as you may or may not have noticed.

The major nations of OPEC are Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Venezuela, brutal dicatorships who align themselves against broader American values but there's a trick hidden in that statement.

You see, Republicans, particularly those in the MAGA side of the party, have drifted away from American values. The Trump Administration in particular sought close ties with authoritarian dictatorships such as Turkey, Russia, and, yes, Saudi Arabia while the Biden Administration has taken a more distant if not harder line with regard to those countries.

It's not entirely insane to think that this OPEC move was taken deliberately to damage Democrats and President Biden in the United States (and to help far-right parties and politicians in other countries that are having elections now) and to promote Republicans, particularly those Republicans who have scorned democracy and human rights as American values.

By presenting high gas prices, which, again, are the fault of authoritarian dictators around the world, as being the fault of President Biden, Republicans are, knowingly or not, aligning themselves with the interests of those same dictators.

I want you to realize what they're doing, not to buy it, and to realize what it means that so many candidates who want to run the American government are willing to so easily dismiss the values that we all supposedly believe in.

[infinitelytheheartexpands]

what is the point of this besides greed and wanting to undercut green energy initiatives

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

October 5, 2022

Heather Cox Richardson

Today the OPEC+ oil cartel announced it will cut output by 2 million barrels a day, beginning in November. Since the world currently consumes about 100 million barrels of oil a day, this will be a cut of about 2%.

OPEC is short for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. It includes 13 member states, led by Saudi Arabia, and produces 44% of the world’s oil. Eleven other countries work alongside OPEC and make up OPEC+. Those additional countries include Russia, and together with OPEC, they control more than half of the world’s oil, about 55% of it.

OPEC+ countries cooperate to reduce market competition and raise prices.

The cost of oil has dropped steadily during the course of the summer, falling about 32% until it fell below $80 a barrel for the American oil the U.S. uses as a benchmark. With today’s announcement, the price of a barrel of oil started to move upward again.

The decision of OPEC+ to cut production is not simply about prices. It is about the ongoing struggle over democracy playing out in Ukraine, as the Ukrainians fight off the Russian invaders.

The Russian economy depends upon oil sales, and the U.S. and European Union have sought to cut into that money to hurt Russia’s ability to continue its attack in Ukraine. A day ago, after Russia illegally annexed four regions of Ukraine, the 27 member nations in the European Union joined the G7 (which is made up of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States) to set a price cap on Russian oil, in addition to another round of sanctions. Theoretically, this plan should have enabled countries that need Russian oil for heat this winter to get it, while keeping the prices low enough to starve Putin’s war efforts.

Russia is co-chair of OPEC+ and is desperate for oil money, on which its economy depends. That economy is crumbling under international sanctions, and Russia’s oil production has dropped about a million barrels a day at the same time that the country has been forced to discount its oil to sell it. As Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is failing, it needs more money, and Russia asked for the OPEC+ cuts to increase prices.

“It’s clear that OPEC+ is aligning with Russia with today’s announcement,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said, and OPEC+ delegates said the move was, indeed, a big win for Russia.

Biden took heat earlier this year when he traveled to Saudi Arabia to ask leaders to increase production, in part to ease gas prices here in the U.S., which soared after the economy came roaring back after the worst of the pandemic passed and after Putin invaded Ukraine. At the time, the Saudis increased production slightly, but this announced cut makes Saudi Arabia’s rejection of Biden’s request clear, even though the Saudi energy minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, said that OPEC+ was simply trying to stabilize markets in the face of a cooling global economy.

It is not immediately clear just how badly this development will hurt prices as the global economy slows and there is less demand for oil. Still, the announcement of the cuts a month before the U.S. midterms certainly seems like an attempt to influence U.S. politics. It is no secret that Saudi leaders cultivated the Trump family, which returned their overtures, and last year, Saudi leader Crown prince Mohammed bin Salman overruled the advisors of the main Saudi sovereign wealth fund to invest $2 billion of the fund in a new investment company run by Jared Kushner, former president Trump’s son-in-law.

Of today’s news, the Biden White House said: “The president is disappointed by the shortsighted decision by OPEC+ to cut production quotas while the global economy is dealing with the continued negative impact of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. At a time when maintaining a global supply of energy is of paramount importance, this decision will have the most negative impact on lower- and middle-income countries that are already reeling from elevated energy prices.”

Apparently recognizing that higher oil prices could well translate into higher gas prices and hamstring the Democrats right before the midterms, the White House statement touted how the president and allies around the world have helped to bring gas prices down by $1.20 to an average of $3.29 a gallon. It said that the administration would continue to release oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, a release that has significantly lowered oil prices and is part of why OPEC+ is upset. The administration will also continue to increase domestic production and has asked U.S. energy companies, which have been making record profits, to close “the historically large gap between wholesale and retail gas prices—so that American consumers are paying less at the pump.”

The administration also said that “in light of today’s action,” it would “consult with Congress on additional tools and authorities to reduce OPEC’s control over energy prices.”

“Finally,” it said, “today’s announcement is a reminder of why it is so critical that the United States reduce its reliance on foreign sources of fossil fuels.” It reminded Americans that the Inflation Reduction Act was the nation’s most significant investment ever in transitioning to clean energy and increasing energy security by fulfilling our energy needs at home.

(Folks: Perhaps fittingly, our power is out. I won’t be able to make corrections tonight, so apologies in advance if I’ve messed something up. And don’t worry– we are perfectly safe– this just happens here sometimes.)

—

Notes:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/arielcohen/2018/06/29/opec-is-dead-long-live-opec/?sh=b64c2652217a

https://www.npr.org/2022/10/05/1126754169/opec-oil-production-cut

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/05/business/opec-russia-oil-output.html

https://www.wsj.com/articles/opec-agrees-to-biggest-oil-production-cut-since-start-of-pandemic-11664978144

Vivian Salama @vmsalamaStatement by President Biden’s top national security and economic advisors expressing his disappointment in OPEC’s decision to cut production quotas in the midst of a global economic crisis.

3:27 PM ∙ Oct 5, 2022138Likes63Retweets

https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/10/05/statement-from-national-security-advisor-jake-sullivan-and-nec-director-brian-deese/

https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-business-brussels-european-union-258c0a5a0ada0433fa6dd0cc8e435a1d

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-62770283

https://www.opec.org/opec_web/en/about_us/25.htm

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[dontmean2bepoliticalbut]

You can view the data HERE

Also...

[izooks]

Saudi Arabia cutting from 13 million barrels a day to 8 million barrels a day. Why? So they can jack up the price up of oil.

This is Saudi Arabia and OPEC attempt to help Trump in this election.

[memenewsdotcom]

#Biden to release more #oil from #strategicreserve