Quote from tradersboredom:
Countries like Russia Venezeula need the cashflow from oil to pay for gov't expenses.
they sell their oil at whatever the market price is to get their oil revenues.
they aren't 'cheating' by cutting back or increasing production.
Saudi's still make money if oil is $20/barrel. they'll sell even at below cost or at cost to generate tax revenues or jobs in the oil sector
The venezuela heavy sour crude (one of the worst quality in the world) is trading at $30,65 in the spot market and will be quote next monday around 25 USD per barrel in the cash market.
the minimum oil price Chavez needs to sustain his economic policies range from US$120 a barrel to US$65.
Chavez may have to cut domestic handouts and foreign aid.
The first items likely to go will be arms purchases from Russia, oil subsidies for Cuba, and job-creating local projects such as bridges and subways.
Venezuela may be poised to repeat the economic collapse it suffered in the 1980s at the end of its last oil boom. Former president Carlos Andres Perez, employing policies similar to Chavezâs, lavished petrodollars on public works projects, foreign aid and nationalizations in the late 1970s, setting the stage for a 1983 currency devaluation and spending cuts that sent millions of Venezuelans into poverty.
Below US$75 a barrel, itâs likely that Chavez will devalue the bolivar for the first time since 2005, sparking a surge of inflation and a drop in real wages because of Venezuelaâs reliance on imports.
So yes, opec members are in deep shit.
The Only people making money right now in the Oil industries are guys like Marc Rich, Trafigura, Glencore, Shell and Exxon buying a lot of oil in the cash physical market and selling that oil in the foward market with this massive contango. those guys are buying Physical Oil now at $38 and selling the future contracts for delivery in theforwards months, (especially december at $56.) After taking into account storage and financing costs those guys will earn about 14%.
Take a look at the Brent/WTi spread right now.