Simon Henderson is the Baker Senior Fellow and director of the Bernstein Program on Gulf and Energy Policy at The Washington Institute, specializing in energy matters and the conservative Arab states of the Persian Gulf.
Articles & Testimony
This is President Trump’s dilemma: how to safeguard America’s shale-based energy independence without making apparent concessions to Moscow.
President Trump said Thursday that he was “a little torn” on how to address the differences between Saudi Arabia and Russia in their oil-price war but would intervene in oil markets at the “appropriate time.” Many people probably would interpret those phrases as indicating that the president is under enormous pressure to do something but doesn’t like the options he has been offered. It’s now two weeks since the two countries failed to agree on production cuts that would have supported the already weak oil price. We, the average consumers, all like low-priced gasoline but this isn’t the aim of Messrs. Putin and MbS. They individually want to control the market and try to set a new, higher price. What price? Riyadh’s budget is based on a notional $75-plus barrel of oil...
