Abstract

An unexpected plummet in prices in the second half of 2014 left governments and the oil industry scrambling to maintain production levels, even at a loss, to keep market share. Saudi Arabia has enough reserves to maintain production - at least for now - as do many of its counterparts in OPEC, though this hasn't stopped the IMF from calling on oil-producing countries to introduce more taxes. Russia's pocketbook has been noticeably lighter and the country has cut spending and export duties on oil. For net importers of oil, especially developing countries, the price drop has been ...