So the house of Saud is making a tiny part of Aramco go public. No one how big Aramaco is or how much it's worth. The timing is also very odd for any IPO to launch especially a fossil fuel mega giant like Aramco.
So why?
Some theories-
>They need the liquidity for the imminent war with Iran.
>Perhaps the oil wells are about to run dry?
>Perhaps fossil fuels are about to be made obsolete and it's a last gasp cash grab?
Discuss
http://www.cnbc.com/2016/01/07/saudi-arabia-oil-giant-could-be-going-public.html
>>15505
There's a theory that the Saudi econmoy is heading for a downturn shortly, as their lavish spending combined with losses incurred from competing with American oil companies is forcing a fiscal rethink. I recently read that they've repatriated a shitload of their offshore holdings.
>>15505
If it's a tiny part then it may be a trial for larger organizational moves to come later. The country is trending towards instability, but it is far better off than nearly every other country in the region and the movement is slow.
I don't think they're gearing up for dominating Iran either. Such a move wouldn't accomplish much to hasten Iran's downfall as they're being bleed most on the domestic front and any external aggression would consolidate the regime's power.
The Saudi princes are decadent but they're not irrational. I would bet my money on any cash from a IPO ultimately going to buying off domestic nationals.
>>15505
>Perhaps the oil wells are about to run dry?
lol
The middle east at conservative estimates has enough oil to keep going for over a century with current technologies, minimum.
>Perhaps fossil fuels are about to be made obsolete and it's a last gasp cash grab?
Hahaha no
>>15505
/biz/ would like this, you should post it there
>>15702
>The middle east at conservative estimates has enough oil to keep going for over a century with current technologies, minimum.
Maybe not
>>15505
>Perhaps fossil fuels are about to be made obsolete and it's a last gasp cash grab?
Bingo
Jump to conclusions article of the day?
Since they are an oil economy, they rely on the ability to sell oil cheaply to other countries but unfortunately for them the price of their oil to buy is quite high so they have a hard time selling it.
This same problem was encountered by Russia some time ago which is why they saw a huge loss in GDP.
Oil in no means is becoming obsolete because we need it for just about everything and they still have massive oil reserves despite declining production.
Shale Oil is also something that is contributing to their losses. Shale oil is cheaper and more available to big oil customers like the USA.
>>15972
This.
Oil is not obsolete, it's just easier to come by thanks to fracking. Also the stability of the petrodollar is at stake, which is possibly a bad thing for US, but probably not since we're moving towards a higher self sufficiency in the oil sphere.
petrodollars mean that ALL oil is bought and sold in USD. Other countries need USD to purchase oil from even OPEC.
Also this The Foreign exchange reserves of China are mainly composed of US dollar in the forms of US government bonds and institutional bonds, and excludes reserves held by Hong Kong and Macau. As of July 2015, Foreign exchange reserves of China stood at US$ 3.65 trillion.[1][2] The reserve were $3.3 trillion by the end of 2012,[3] making it the highest foreign exchange reserve in the world
Basically China is a HUGE consumer of middle eastern oil, and they need USD to get it.... Well as of now anyways.
If we inflate our currency, then China loses money as well as everyone else as each USD becomes worth less and less.
>>15505
SA has been producing too much oil, which has driven the price down too far, and now they can't afford to maintain their welfare system. So they sell off a tiny sliver of the family jewels in order to pay the bills, the fact they do this and not reduce oil production is a sign that they are serious about driving other oil-producers, and especially Iran, into poverty. It's begger-your-neighbor economics, no conspiracy is needed to explain it.
They need money to kill other shitskins, obviously.
>they're financing a move on Iran
Aren't they straight up losing territory to the ragtag Yemeni forces they tried to invade?
>>15972
What the fuck? Are you serious?
Saudi Arabia can produce the cheapest oil IN THE WORLD. Production costs are around $8/barrel for them.
Shale oil has HIGHER production costs (you know, from all the processing and extraction it requires.) In the US, the most efficient shale operation is only profitable when oil trades around $65/barrel. Anything less than that, and it's not economically viable to produce shale, just buy on the market.
>>16036
They're not that fussed about Yemen, the war there is contained. Crashing the oil markets with no survivors is their current plan, they hope to leverage their huge production and oversized sovereign wealth fund to bankrupt Iran and win the war without firing a shot.
>>16025
Not to mention the North Dakota oil boom driving it down in the US.
>>16036
>based ruler of despotic gov't
>decide to have US do all my fighting for me
>why am I shit at fighting?
>lose to rowdy niggers
