Who Is Really Responsible For The Oil Price War

At the end of March, Urals spot prices in northwestern Europe fell below $15 per barrel, a huge drop from the end of February when Urals spot prices had exceeded $50. Many observers attributed such a strong price collapse to the breakdown of the OPEC+ deal, and they blamed Russia for the suspension of the agreement. The breakdown of the agreement, however, was inevitable from the moment the OPEC+ deal was first signed in 2016. Russia agreed to cooperate with a very weak OPEC in order to salvage the balance of the market as well as to better its…