Pumps draw petroleum from oil wells in Signal Hill, California. Observers say Saudi Arabia effectively started a price war by refusing to cut output in order to undermine US oil production, led chiefly by fracking, but that it was unlikely to prompt the US drillers to cut back production in the near term - AFP Photo.
NEW YORK: Saudi Arabia effectively started a global oil price war this month aimed at quickly denting US oil output. Slowing a US drilling boom, however, could take more than a year.
Many observers expect a downward spiral of global oil prices to rapidly dampen shale oil drilling in the US, slow production growth and help bolster prices. Small producers vulnerable to sudden price moves may have to slow spending, quickly reducing the amount of oil gushing to market.
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