The empire strikes back: Saudi Arabia takes on U.S. shale

By Rob Nikolewski │ Watchdog.org

Drivers are enjoying a drastic drop in gasoline prices but behind the scenes, the oil-rich nation of Saudi Arabia appears to be playing a game of economic chicken with U.S. shale producers whose technological advances have completely reshaped the world’s energy landscape.

“They want to prove to the world that they’re still in control,” energy analyst Dan Steffens, president of the Energy Prospectus Group in Houston, told Watchdog.org.

The price of a barrel of oil has plunged nearly 40 percent since late June, and since Thanksgiving the drop in gasoline prices has accelerated so fast that some areas of the country may soon see the price dip  below $2 a gallon.

The empire strikes back: Saudi Arabia takes on U.S. shale « Watchdog.org.