The explosive growth of U.S. shale production has capped gains of international and U.S. oil prices, offsetting OPEC’s production cuts in the first half of the year and contributing to an emerging oil glut in the latter half in 2018.
OPEC has now forged a new pact with its Russia-led non-OPEC allies to contain the oil price decline to $50 a barrel Brent—a price that is not enough to balance any budget of a Middle Eastern oil producer.
But the consequences of rising U.S. light oil production from the shale fields have also rippled through international oil flows and trade, making OPEC’s heavyweights such as Saudi Arabia fight for keeping market share in their most prized market and the world’s fastest-growing oil consumption region, Asia.
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