was producing back then.ĭespite the Saudis' bitterness over the cheap crude still locked in Iraq's oil fields, imagine the seething hatred they'll soon hold over the state of Texas in the near future. began counting them 27 years ago!Īlthough the count is still far from the 4,530 rigs that were running in 1981, current production around 8 million barrels per day is only slightly off of the 8.5 million barrels per day the U.S. In fact, there are more rigs drilling for oil in the U.S. Nearly half of all the oil and gas rigs operating throughout the world are found within U.S. and make no mistake, the drill, baby, drill mantra is alive and well in the United States. These squabbles will inevitably escalate as the cost to extract crude oil outside of Iraq soars as the Saudis inject an ever-increasing amount of seawater into their Ghawar wishing well it's a losing battle for both sides.īesides, there are much more lucrative opportunities in the crude oil market. Step back from OPEC's in-fighting for just a minute. and it's only by a technological miracle that we're finally unburdening ourselves from their oil debt.
In the latest spat between the OPEC brothers, the Iraqi Prime Minister accused both the Saudis and Qatar of openly funding insurgents in the western Anbar province.Īll is not well in their crude wonderland. For now, we'll call it an intense case of sibling rivalry in OPEC, with the oil cartel's most prestigious members embroiled in a heated battle of sabotage.Īlthough the last country you'd expect to hold a grudge over oil production would be Saudi Arabia, their envy over a fellow OPEC member stems from something the Saudi princes are quickly losing - access to the same cheap, easy-to-get oil that Iraq is enjoying for the time being.