The "Oil War" Between Russia and Saudi Arabia in the Context of Implementation of the OPEC+ Agreement
Students Name: Ukhanska Olha Mykhailivna
Qualification Level: magister
Speciality: International Relations
Institute: Institute of the Humanities and Social Sciences
Mode of Study: full
Academic Year: 2020-2021 н.р.
Language of Defence: ukrainian
Abstract: Ukhanska O. M. Ivasechko O. Y. (supervisor). The «Oil War» between russia and Saudi Arabia in the context of implementing the OPEC+ agreement. Master’s thesis. – Lviv Polytechnic National University, Lviv, 2020. Extended abstract. OPEC’s history dates back to 1960, when countries such as Venezuela, Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait held a conference in Baghdad to discuss the issue of reducing commodity prices [2]. In December 2016, an agreement was signed that provided for limiting oil production between OPEC representatives and 11 oil-producing states that were not member states of this organization [1, с. 115]. On March 6, 2020, negotiations between the Russian Federation and OPEC to reduce the daily production of raw materials were defeated. Such actions of the Russian Federation prompted Saudi Arabia, which responded with the largest price cuts in the last twenty years, seizing a certain part of the Russian market in Asia and thereby causing unrest in the energy markets. Study object – the OPEC+ agreement and the specifics of its implementation; Scope of research – the causes and consequences of the confrontation between official Riyadh and Moscow in the context of the implementation of the OPEC+ treaty Goal of research: to find out the consequences of the oil war between the Russian Federation and Saudi Arabia on the international political and economic arena in the context of the implementation of the OPEC+ agreement, as well as to highlight the threats of a price war for the international coordinate system as a whole, as well as the balance of power and the world order. The history of the organization of exporting countries is studied. The reasons for signing the OPEC+ agreement were also considered. In addition, the key reasons for the beginning of the «oil war» were identified. It was found out on what new terms the new OPEC+ agreement was signed on April 12, 2020. In addition, the key problems of implementing the OPEC+ agreement are identified. We found that the main problem for the full implementation of the agreement was that a number of states, such as the Russian Federation, Iraq, Nigeria, Angola, Kazakhstan, Congo, South Sudan and Gabon, did not fully fulfill the agreed obligations and became the main violators of the OPEC+ agreement. The position of Saudi Arabia on such actions of States has been clarified. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic as a challenge to the existence of the OPEC+ agreement is investigated and it is predicted that the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 provoked the closure of the borders of states, and this led to a decrease in the use of petroleum products, so the price of oil began to fall, and Russia’s exit from OPEC+ was an additional and decisive impetus to the oil war. In addition, the position of the official Riyadh regarding the oil war with Russia has been determined. The paper also analyzes the position of official Moscow regarding the oil war with Saudi Arabia. The official position of the United States on the «oil confrontation» between Moscow and Riyadh is analyzed. The consequences of the «oil war» between the Russian Federation and Saudi Arabia and their impact on the stability of the International Energy Market are determined. In addition, potential ways were designed that would be able to resolve the issue of the «oil war». Also in the study, we were able to identify scenarios for further cooperation between Saudi Arabia and the Russian Federation in the oil market and in the global market as a whole. Keywords: «Oil war», oil, OPEC+, COVID-19, Saudi Arabia, Russian Federation. References. 1. Здоровега М. В. РФ та Саудівська Аравія: хроніки нафтової війни [Електронний ресурс] / М. В. Здоровега // Наукове фахове видання Регіональні студії. – 2020. – Вип. 21. – С. 115-120. – Режим доступу: http://www.regionalstudies.uzhnu.uz.ua/archive/21/21_2020.pdf 2. Кучик О. С. Міжнародні організації [Електронний ресурс] / [ О. С. Кучик, І. Р. Суховолець, А.Б. Сельмах, Г. Литвин, Тюшка А.]. – 2-ге вид., переробл. і доп. – К.: Знання, 2007. – 749 с. – Режим доступу: https://pidru4niki.com/19991130/ekonomika/mizhnarodni_organizatsiyi 3. Попович Д. Штормове попередження: чим небезпечне для України зниження цін на нафту [Електронний ресурс] / Д. Попович // Слово і діло. – 2020. – Режим доступу: https://www.slovoidilo.ua/2020/03/11/kolonka/denys-popovych/bezpeka/shtormove-poperedzhennya-chym-nebezpechne-ukrayiny-znyzhennya-czin-naftu 4. Blas J. Russia and Saudi Arabia step up oil diplomacy [Електронний ресурс] / J. Blas, I. Arkhipov // Bloomberg Quint. – 2020. – Режим доступу: https://www.bloombergquint.com/business/russia-saudi-arabia-ready-to-keep-energy-market-stable-kremlin 5. Coronavirus: Oil producers expected to increase crude output [Електронний ресурс] // BBC News. – 2020. – Режим доступу: https://www.bbc.com/news/business-53386423