OPEC+’s fiscal fandango
Breakeven prices are a blunt but important metric for managing oil markets and helping shape oil’s direction, but Saudi Arabia and other producers also see a bigger picture
The breakeven price for oil-producing nations serves as a significant metric that reflects the price at which their budgets are balanced, showing the financial stability and economic health of each respective country. The breakeven price often plays a crucial role in shaping production strategies, impacting global oil market dynamics and potentially having geopolitical consequences. It is worth noting that oil-producing countries have at times disregarded breakeven prices to prioritise increased production in a bid to capture a larger market share, as seen in 2020 when Saudi Arabia boosted output to 12.3m b/d. This approach has been used to pressure countries such as Russia and shale oil pro
Also in this section
16 September 2024
The third part of our fourth chapter on the history of oil takes the story of gas to the present day with the rise of LNG and the creation of a truly global market
16 September 2024
Gas is difficult to move compared with oil, requiring additional infrastructure. The second part of our history of gas examines how expanding pipeline networks made it possible to monetise the fuel
16 September 2024
The first part of our fourth chapter on the history of oil looks at the origins of gas and LNG—once considered a nuisance, now a fuel of the future
13 September 2024
The Ukraine–Russia gas transit and interconnection agreements are due to expire at the end of this year, but despite some uncertainty, Europe seems well-prepared