OPEC+ Talks Collapse, Blowing Hole in Russia- #Saudi Alliance - Bloomberg

OPEC+ Talks Collapse, Blowing Hole in Russia-Saudi Alliance - Bloomberg:

OPEC+ talks ended in dramatic failure, auguring the end of a diplomatic alliance between Saudi Arabia and Russia that has underpinned crude prices and changed the balance of power in the Middle East.

Brent crude, the global benchmark, plunged the most in more than a decade after Russia refused to bend to the will of Saudi Arabia, whose high-stakes gamble pushed the group past breaking point. Riyadh wanted to slash production to offset the hit to demand from the coronavirus. But Moscow had a different idea.

The Kremlin’s budget is more resilient to low prices than its Middle Eastern allies. Russia also argued that cheap crude will help wipe out competition from U.S. shale and turn investors against companies that are already struggling, said a person familiar with the discussions.

The outcome is bad for energy giants like Exxon Mobil Corp., resource-dependent countries from Latin America to Central Asia, and companies like BP Plc trying to reinvent themselves as greener producers. Low prices will help some economies though, as a stimulus in the face of the raging virus.