So, the trajectory of the graph is pretty much the same with the exception of a couple of years which can easily be explained- NOTHING TO DO WITH ANY OF OBAMA's POLICIES!
The price war begins
Senior policymakers in Saudi Arabia appear to have grasped the inevitability of lower prices faster than many investors. Throughout September, October and November 2014, speculation intensified about possible production cuts by OPEC members, led by Saudi Arabia.
Cutting production to keep prices artificially high would only sacrifice Saudi Arabia’s and OPEC’s market share and allow shale production to continue expanding. Instead, the kingdom determined to let prices decline enough to begin curbing investment in new shale wells and formations.
In the end, the kingdom suffered a double hit to its revenues from lower prices and reduced output. Saudi policymakers today are determined not to make the same mistake.
On Nov. 27, 2014, OPEC announced that it would maintain its combined production at 30 million bpd. Brent, which had already fallen to $77 per barrel by the time of the OPEC meeting, dropped another quarter to $59 over the next month as the market digested the fact that the group would not come to the rescue.
A painful adjustment for the industry
Oil prices must ultimately drop to a point at which the market rebalances – which means eliminating some of the previously forecast production growth and slowing or reversing the loss of demand.
In the shale patch, producers slashed drilling programs for 2015 and started to idle rigs, conducting layoffs. Between early October 2014 and Jan. 9, 2015, almost 190 rigs previously drilling for oil in the United States were idled – around 12 percent of the total. In all, 550 rigs could be deactivated in the coming months.
Estimates of breakeven costs vary, but many sources suggest oil prices have fallen beneath the threshold needed to maintain current output levels.
What happened to production and prices in 2015 therefore largely depended on the responses of the shale companies – how far they cut drilling and production, how far they can improve efficiency and cut costs to reduce the breakeven price for new wells while sustaining production in an environment of lower prices.
Americans are not going to drill for oil when the price dips below a certain price per barrel!
DUDE WE HAVE KNOWN THIS FOR YEARS.
OBAMA HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE COUPLE OF DOWN YEARS ON THE GRAPH!
BUT LEAVE IT TO THE RACIST OBAMA HATERS TO BLAME OBAMA FOR EVERYTHING- IF HE DID DO SOMETHING- OR IF HE DIDN'T DO SOMETHING!
ANYTHING! THEY ARE STILL BLAMING OBAMA FOR THEIR HEMORRHOIDS!
pure ignorance
