Daily Analysis of 'The Hindu' - 2nd April, 2020 | Additional Study Material for UPSC PDF Download

 Page 1


“The Lord may forgive us our sins, but the nervous system never 
does.” – William James
Page 2


“The Lord may forgive us our sins, but the nervous system never 
does.” – William James
The battle to set oil prices
?Energy war led crude oil prices crash in the
international market
?Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
(OPEC) and its alliance partners failed to reach any
consensus on cutting back production to levels that
would enable prices to remain stable.
?The U.S., as the largest oil producer today, has
stayed away from the OPEC-plus arrangement, hoping
that production cuts by OPEC-plus countries will help
it increase its market share.
?The International Energy Agency (IEA) has scaled
down global demand for oil.
Page 3


“The Lord may forgive us our sins, but the nervous system never 
does.” – William James
The battle to set oil prices
?Energy war led crude oil prices crash in the
international market
?Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
(OPEC) and its alliance partners failed to reach any
consensus on cutting back production to levels that
would enable prices to remain stable.
?The U.S., as the largest oil producer today, has
stayed away from the OPEC-plus arrangement, hoping
that production cuts by OPEC-plus countries will help
it increase its market share.
?The International Energy Agency (IEA) has scaled
down global demand for oil.
? Russ ia’ s strategy: denying market share to
American shale oil producers.
?The latter rely on higher prices in the range of
$50-$60 to remain profitable because of higher
production costs.
?At $31 per barrel, not more than five American
shale oil producers can remain profitable.
Page 4


“The Lord may forgive us our sins, but the nervous system never 
does.” – William James
The battle to set oil prices
?Energy war led crude oil prices crash in the
international market
?Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
(OPEC) and its alliance partners failed to reach any
consensus on cutting back production to levels that
would enable prices to remain stable.
?The U.S., as the largest oil producer today, has
stayed away from the OPEC-plus arrangement, hoping
that production cuts by OPEC-plus countries will help
it increase its market share.
?The International Energy Agency (IEA) has scaled
down global demand for oil.
? Russ ia’ s strategy: denying market share to
American shale oil producers.
?The latter rely on higher prices in the range of
$50-$60 to remain profitable because of higher
production costs.
?At $31 per barrel, not more than five American
shale oil producers can remain profitable.
?Both Saudi Arabia and Russia depend heavily on
oil revenues, both are also fighting to retain
market share.
?From a high of $147 per barrel in 2008, crude oil
prices have fallen to around $24 per barrel and
may even go further southwards.
?India, with 80% of its energy requirements met by
imports from the international market, stands to
save ?10,700 crores for every $1 drop in prices.
?It will reduce transportation costs and boost
demand.
?Can Russia and Saudi Arabia sustain the energy war
for long?
Page 5


“The Lord may forgive us our sins, but the nervous system never 
does.” – William James
The battle to set oil prices
?Energy war led crude oil prices crash in the
international market
?Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
(OPEC) and its alliance partners failed to reach any
consensus on cutting back production to levels that
would enable prices to remain stable.
?The U.S., as the largest oil producer today, has
stayed away from the OPEC-plus arrangement, hoping
that production cuts by OPEC-plus countries will help
it increase its market share.
?The International Energy Agency (IEA) has scaled
down global demand for oil.
? Russ ia’ s strategy: denying market share to
American shale oil producers.
?The latter rely on higher prices in the range of
$50-$60 to remain profitable because of higher
production costs.
?At $31 per barrel, not more than five American
shale oil producers can remain profitable.
?Both Saudi Arabia and Russia depend heavily on
oil revenues, both are also fighting to retain
market share.
?From a high of $147 per barrel in 2008, crude oil
prices have fallen to around $24 per barrel and
may even go further southwards.
?India, with 80% of its energy requirements met by
imports from the international market, stands to
save ?10,700 crores for every $1 drop in prices.
?It will reduce transportation costs and boost
demand.
?Can Russia and Saudi Arabia sustain the energy war
for long?
Lessons from Hubei
?Success in conquering SARS-CoV-2 is best defined in
terms of ensuring that there is no community spread.
?The nature and scale of the effort calls for fresh
thinking, as it reverses established approaches.
?The Prime Minister has taken a bold political
decision.
?India faces an unprecedented implementation
challenge and must combine the lockdown with
community involvement, and technology-based
interventions.