Shifting sands of oil politics

New details and statistics continue to emerge, pointing to the shrinking geopolitical clout of major Arab oil producers. The countries in the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) and its allies in the Opec+ are no longer the sole arbiters of the supply side of the global energy dynamics. Markets are no longer in their absolute control. And this carries major geopolitical consequences for them. The changing trends are becoming more evident by the day. Courtesy of the shale revolution and resultantly its crude output touching 13.4 million barrels per day (bpd) in recent months, the United States is today the world’s largest oil producer. In contrast, Saudi Arabia’s output is roughly around 9m bpd. Roughly speaking, the US output is 1.5 times the Saudi output. And while the US is the world’s largest producer, one needs to concede that its consumption is also the highest in the world. This means that despite producing at unprecedented levels, the United States is still an oil importer.