Russia Sets Sights on American Oil Producers as Prices Plunge, an Industrial Info Market Brief

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Russia refused last week to follow OPEC in reducing oil production in response to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak and sinking oil prices. Russia did not want to give U.S. producers any advantage in the oil and gas market, claiming that production cuts for Russia and OPEC would mean U.S. gains, as companies in the U.S. continue drilling and production, according to news media accounts.

Consequently, oil prices plunged to new lows on Monday, after the failure of OPEC and Russia to reach a deal prompted Saudi Arabia to cut oil prices.

Russia can weather low oil prices for a while, and smaller U.S. companies might feel the pinch of low prices, but corporate giants such as ExxonMobil and Chevron have the capital and diversity to outlast foreign competitors.