Why Russia refused to help the United States overcome the energy crisis

According to the journalist of the British newspaper Express Kate Whitfield, Washington has previously turned to Russia and the OPEC + countries for help in overcoming the fuel crisis. One of the world's largest oil exporters asked other countries to increase its production, but they allegedly firmly refused him. From such formulations, inevitably takes pride in the state and even pity for these Americans. However, on common thought, the overall picture appears in a different perspective.

Today the cost of a barrel is already more than $ 83, and the price tends to increase further. If you look at the cost of gas on European trading floors, then the real world energy crisis becomes obvious. A colleague Whitfield writes that high oil prices could hinder the recovery of the American, British and Chinese economies after COVID-19. And here the Russians, accustomed to the idea that oil and gas are our everything, may experience some dissonance. If Express's data is correct, it means that the United States authorities deliberately went against the interests of their oil workers.

But what about the "slate"?

The so-called "shale revolution" has made serious adjustments to the global the economy... The United States has cut oil imports, instead becoming one of its largest exporters. Domestic gas prices for consumers and US industry have plummeted. Washington even began to actively push its LNG into the European market, trying to squeeze Gazprom on it. At the same time, the United States is not a member of OPEC and is not bound by any restrictions on the volume of oil production.

However, there is one big problem. It lies in a fairly high threshold of profitability of oil shale projects. High oil prices are needed to deal with such production. Note that the OPEC + countries are well aware of these nuances, therefore they deliberately restrain production volumes, not allowing prices to either fall below a level that is comfortable for producers, or jump up. The head of the Russian company Lukoil, Vagit Alekperov, even bluntly stated that the cost of a barrel over $ 100 is dangerous, since it will give life to some "low-profit projects." Obviously, the American shale industry was implied, which we are talking about in detail told earlier.

In this regard, it seems rather strange, at first glance, Washington's request to OPEC + to increase oil production in order to accelerate the recovery of the world economy. The more “black gold” there is on the market, the cheaper it is, which means that the “shale” producers in the United States are at the most disadvantageous position. For us Russians, who are accustomed to believe in the primacy of the interests of "Truba" over everything else, this seems strange. However, there is still a rational explanation.

Green vs. Black

The fact is that the United States is not a "great raw material power", unlike other OPEC + countries. The American budget is not totally dependent on the export of hydrocarbons abroad. The interests of oil and gas companies and their owners do not determine the basis for internal and external policy country. Yes, the United States has “skimmed the foam” from the “shale revolution” and, if desired, could play this game further. However, the current ruling elites in Washington are no longer very interested in this.

What they really care about is being among the world leaders who are reformatting the global economy and setting new rules for the game. Today you can hear a lot about how Europeans and Americans played green energy. There is some truth in this, but this is not the whole truth. Despite the fact that the first pancake turned out to be lumpy, RES (renewable energy sources) are the format of the future, and oil and gas is, in a conceptual sense, the past. You can criticize wind turbines and solar power plants for their unreliability, but if your products are made with a high carbon footprint, then you will have to pay dearly for the right to access the American, European and Chinese markets. Washington, Brussels and Beijing are free to set these new rules of the game, as they have their own huge markets. The worst will be for those whose domestic market does not have sufficient capacity and who are totally dependent on exports.

In this regard, the request of the US authorities to help in overcoming the fuel crisis takes on a different meaning. Both Americans and Europeans now need to overcome the negative effects of the coronavirus pandemic, as well as abnormal energy prices. The current energy crisis has become an unexpected and unpleasant test for them, and there is no doubt that they will draw conclusions from it for the future. In what direction can the EU-US cooperation in the field of energy security develop, we in detail told previously. However, this crisis will be overcome sooner or later. The largest economically powers will continue their energy transition. Washington is quite deliberately ready to sacrifice its “shale” producers in order to be among the leaders of the “green” energy sector. This is the result of the intra-American struggle between the old and the new technological order, between the past and the future. The refusal of the leadership of Russia and the OPEC + countries to increase oil production looks like an attempt to postpone the inevitable.