Oil Prices, US Production, Saudi Arabia and OPEC

I think this article sums up things pretty well about what is happening in the oil market.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/23/business/energy-environment/new-balance-of-power.html?_r=0 

Prices are down and that helps consumers, but at the possible expense of more carbon consumption, more emissions, and more fracking. Even the state of Oklahoma believes that the earthquake surge in that state is due to fracking.

The big unknown, as cited in the article, is the long-term future of the Middle East if US production is maintained or increased. Both Iran and Saudi Arabia have a common interest in higher prices but they also hate each other. Saudi Arabia in a recent OPEC meeting refused to cut production even though there is a current oil glut which would dictate a drop in production would be prudent. But the lower prices, while possibly hurting Saudi Arabia, hurts Iran even more as well as Russia and does put some strain on US production -- over 100,000 jobs have evaporated in the US oil industry.