By John Donovan
The oil industry is leaving 2014 on a low note as far as oil prices are concerned.
A financial earthquake has hit ExxonMobil, Royal Dutch Shell, BP, Chevron, Conocophillips and Total.
The Sunday Times devoted a whole page article by Danny Fortson to the turmoil resulting from the collapse in the price of crude oil.
According to his article on page 5 of the Business Section of The Sunday Times published on 21 Dec 2014:
“Tumbling crude prices will lay waste to countries and companies alike”
…and tens of thousands of British jobs are at risk.
Extracts
The slide is reminiscent of the price shocks of 1973, 1979 and 1998. It may be a godsend for drivers and households squeezed by soaring energy bills, but the speed and severity of the drop will also be hugely destructive and wlde-ranglng. Companies will go bust. Mega-mergers will return.
“The impact on the oil producers is likely to be big, too. Having become addicted to the oil revenues and ramped up spending to buy off their populations, they now face painful retrenchment. Some – Venezuela, Russia and Iran – are very exposed.”
The article also says that BP has warned of thousands of redundancies.
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