Month: March 2020

The collapse of the OPEC+ alliance and Saudi Arabia’s subsequent decision over the weekend to launch an all-out price war in crude has upended markets and further roiled a world already strained by the coronavirus crisis. There will be lasting consequences. Oil prices plummeted 30% when futures trading opened Sunday night, a direct consequence of OPEC and Russia’s failed meeting on Friday. OPEC, led by Saudi Arabia, wanted to continue with its current production cuts and add an additional cut of 1.5 million barrels per day. Russia refused, causing a…

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As the world watches an oil price war unfold between Russia, OPEC, and US shale, another major crisis is looming in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia is facing multiple existential threats as a renewed oil price slump threatens to not only hit the country’s revenues and economic diversification programs but also the already fragile position of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Last week, international media reported on the crackdown of two major power brokers inside the Saudi Royal Family. Former Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef and Prince Ahmed bin Abdelaziz Al…

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The unchecked burning of solid waste, generated by industrial units, on the sides of Haripur-Taxila road near the Hattar Industrial Estate continues to expose the transporters, commuters and residents of a number of neighbouring localities to multiple health hazards. The rising environmental pollution in the area points to apathy of the authorities concerned and lack of any strategy to address the problem. The people using Hazara Motorway for reaching Hattar Industrial Estate are welcomed after taking exit route from Hattar interchange by stinky thick smoke and flames billowing from the…

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London (CNN Business)Oil prices have suffered their biggest fall since the day in 1991 when American forces launched air strikes on Iraqi troops following their invasion of Kuwait.Monday’s crash spooked markets that were already freaking out about the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the global economy and demand for oil. Brent crude futures, the global oil benchmark, were down 22%, last trading at $35.45 per barrel. US oil is trading at $33.15 per barrel, a decline of nearly 20%.Here are five things you need to know:Why are oil prices crashing?Saudi Arabia, the world’s top exporter,…

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MOSCOW (Bloomberg) –Vladimir Putin’s resistance to further output cuts has pushed Russia’s accord with the OPEC cartel that controls more than half of the world’s oil production toward breakdown. Some key metrics guiding the Russian economy help explain the president’s reasoning. “Thanks to Russia taking harsh measures earlier, Russia can now afford a lower oil price than five to six years ago,” said Dmitry Dolgin, chief economist at ING Bank in Moscow. Five years of austerity and safeguarding assets against the threat of U.S. sanctions have left Russia in a…

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