In a bold taunt, Saudis warn America’s frackers: ‘Drill, baby, drill is gone forever’
https://fortune.com/2021/03/05/saudis-americas-frackers-drill-gone-forever/March 5, 2021
Saudi Arabia just made a high-stakes wager that the glory days of U.S. shale, which transformed the global energy map in the last decade, are never coming back.
By keeping a tight grip on supply at Thursday’s meeting of the OPEC+ alliance of oil producers, Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman showed he’s focused on boosting prices -- and confident that this time around it won’t encourage American producers to surge back and steal market share.
“‘Drill, baby, drill’ is gone for ever,†said Prince Abdulaziz, who’s orchestrated the revival of the oil market after last year’s catastrophic collapse.
His swagger comes mixed with a good dose of diplomatic tension: Russia, Saudi Arabia’s most important OPEC+ partner, has tried to convince Riyadh for several months to increase output, fearing that rising oil prices would ultimately awaken rival shale producers. The Saudis are certain the American industry has reformed itself....