An excellent article at Business Insider points out that the glut in oil might be getting bigger. One marine-fuel trader out of Singapore was quoted in Reuters saying that the oil market is in a price war since everyone wants to sell their petroleum. Consequently, oil prices are not only plunging but might fall further if recent trends in the oil market continue.

Despite OPEC’s committing to output at 30 million barrels per day output for the next six months, the International Energy Agency clarified the announcement stating that Saudi Arabia, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates boosted OPEC output was at a record rate of 31.3 million barrels per day, the highest since October 2012. It is expected OPEC will continue this output in the coming months.

An official with Saudi Arabia’s Aramco oil company said there will not be many cuts to oil production. This means that the rumors of the decline of Saudi oil fields are unfounded. The country can still profitably protect its market share with its cheap oil. Overall, the top three oil producing countries (Saudi Arabia, the US and Russia) are producing oil at an all time high with OPEC exceeding production targets.

It is also expected that oil output will go even higher in the US and it is being driven by fracking. Domestic shale producers are heavily in debt and have to continue output so they can pay their creditors off. If sanctions are lifted on Iran that country will be another source of oil that can further flood the market, respectful, which can help drop oil prices down even further. Regardless if Iran enters the picture or not, consumers ultimately will benefit from even larger oil supplies since the more available a product is, the lower prices will go.

However, it is not entirely a rosy picture. Canada depends on oil production and as a result of more oil it has hurt Canada’s oil industry. Consequently, there is talk in the country of plunging into a financial crisis. I hope Canada does not suffer for very long if a financial crisis hits. Otherwise and in a general sense the increased availability of oil is good news and will mean relief at the pump.

In the US oil output is being fueled (pun intended) by fracking and I am sure environmentalists are livid, especially after getting smacked in the face by an EPA study confirming the drilling method does not effect ground water. Fossil fuels are a necessity for a civilization like ours and the increased availability of oil not only means relief for consumers but efficient, cheap energy overall while also debunking the claims that resources are limited and humans consume too much. Environmentalists find this abhorrent and, despite the science not agreeing with their finite resource narrative, it won’t stop them from continuing to not only prevent oil production but to have fracking outlawed.