A global deal to lift sanctions against Iran could unleash a flood of oil onto world markets by next year just as crude output picks up in Libya, Iraq, and North America, triggering a slide in prices and a major shake-up of the energy landscape. The accord should unlock 800,000 barrels a day (b/d) of global supply by next year in a market of 89m, rising over time as foreign firms return and the countrys ruined oil industry comes back to life. Export curbs will stay in place for another 6 months but a planned escalation of curbs will not occur. Citigroup said the Geneva deal should cut global oil prices by $13 over time, enough to depress Brent crude below $100 and US crude below $85. Mr Skrebowski said the Middle East is a tinder box, in the grip of a Sunni-Shia civil war comparable in ideological ferocity to the clash between Catholics and Protestants in early 17th Century Europe. Saudi Arabia has already shown how far it will go to protect its interests, helping to overthrow Egypts Muslim Brotherhood. Goldman Sachs and Bank of America have both warned over recent days that crude prices will slide in 2014, much to the alarm of states that depend on oil to make ends meet. An open rift with Washington might be suicidal at a time when OPEC control over global oil supply is in any case greatly reduced, and the cartel is itself deeply divided. Even the Emirates have cautiously welcomed the Geneva deal, distancing themselves from the Saudis. Yet anything can happen once emotions are at fever pitch in a region already torn apart by war. telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/ambroseevans_pritchard/10471548/Iran-sanctions-deal-to-unleash-oil-supply-but-Saudi-wild-card-looms.html
Posted on: Sun, 24 Nov 2013 23:00:32 +0000