London — Michael Bradshaw, a Professor of Global Energy at Warwick Business School, WBS, has disclosed that the current disagreement between Russia and Saudi Arabia ‘may turn out to be a spectacular own goal,’ adding that neither stands to gain from falling oil prices.
“This is another warning that these petrostates must diversify their economies sooner rather than later, to reduce their vulnerability to volatile oil prices.
“The oil industry may suffer further boom and bust cycles during the 2020s, but those will eventually give way to structural decline as climate policy threatens to destroy demand for fossil fuels. In that context, engaging in a short term price war is folly, akin to arguing about who owns the deck chairs on the Titanic.”