Why is there no mention in the article of the outrageous cost of petrol at AUD$1.40 plus per liter to the consumer in Australia, while oil is only AUD$40 to $50 per barrel?

There has to be an oil price correction before long. While Saudi Arabia has shot itself in the foot financially low oil prices may have kept world GDP growth slightly positive rather than negative. Meanwhile airline CEOs got fat bonuses not so much because they were astute but because of Saudi intransigence.

The thing to remember is that oil was formed 50m-200m years ago. Every day a billion internal combustion engines mean there is less left to extract. The cheap stuff has to run out. US fracking looks like it may be about to peak which might have happened anyway without Saudi overproduction. It's been too good to last. Expect $2/L petrol in Australia with a few years.

The risible article is founded on a fundamentally flawed premise that the Saudis are an entirely oil reliant economy!

And given the largest number on the graph was 318 billion earned as a net from oil refining.

Their future future lies as a oil refiner; and from that perspective, the lowest possible oil price maximises their refinery profits?

One notes that they are still building even more state of the art refineries; and that to date most of the terrorists get most of their revenue from oil sales, plus a little from the production and sale of illicit drugs?

So prices relative to the cost of production harms them? And a good thing you'd think?

There can be no doubt that price gouging oil traders are doing it tough and hooray, long may it continue!

And indeed the production of competitive endless hydrogen; and doable if we revert to the older method of water molecule cracking, as a means of low cost production!

Hydrogen being less volatile than some of the petroleum products produced by the even higher temperature requirements of hydrocarbon cracking

Probably ably assisted by new solar thermal applications?

One note that the Saudi are blessed with endless sunlight and have some coastline bordered by adjacent seas!

And there's considerable comfort for those economies being regularly ripped off by, slowly sinking into the sunset, paper shuffling oil barons.

Who add nothing but their profit demands, from formerly captive energy markets!?

All that one can add is good on the Saudis, and long may their expansion into manufactured petroleum products continue!

As for the hurting price fixing traders and their sad lament; and entirely unearned profit demands? Good riddance!

I hope the "haircut" is followed by an "absolute bath"!
Rhrosty.

Taswegian: Your are absolutely correct in your observation on the fact that all oil is the product of long ago algae production and metamorphic change.

And more toxic than the oil content of living algae, some of which is as high as 60%; and extractable as ready to use diesel or jet fuel!

In fact that's is exactly what is happening in our northwest (diesel) and some purpose built glasshouses (jet fuel) in holland!

And given we're never likely to run out of algae, you'd think the clever people in Canberra, would be right into this?

And as easy as crushing the sun dried filtrate for ready to use as is as superior fuel!

Some industry experts are on the record saying these alternatives could be retailed for just 44 cents a litre, even were an excise imposed.

Algae absorb 2.5 times more than their bodyweight as atmospheric carbon; and under optimised conditions able to literally double that bodyweight/absorption capacity/oil production every 24 hours.

And given our proven capacity to grow this stuff in the Murray/Darling during the height of the worst drought in living memory!?

You'd think some of the "clever people" running the country would have woken up to the fact, that this oil rich stuff could literally save the Murray, and all who depend on her?

Via broad scale algae production; and for just 1-2% of the water normally required for conventional irrigation!

I just hope we don't have to wait another million years to recover the oil this stuff makes?
Cheers, Rhrosty.

Rhosty,
Where did you get the idea oil is formed from algae?
Do you know of any scientific paper about that?

Jf, because it is!

Now you go away look up how oil is made, then come back and apologize for your less than fair-minded abuse!

Perhaps if I said the world is round you'd want to challenge that as well?

I don't suffer fools gladly!
Rhrosty.