OPEC, for some quiet moments..

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Dan Dicker, energy contributor at TheStreet, talks with Rhonda Schaffler about the outcome for OPEC nations and particularly Saudi Arabia, should oil prices stay low for more than three years. Dicker agrees with several projections that show the Saudis running through their cash surplus in five years, should oil remain under $50. The problem, Dicker states, is that so many other countries are in even weaker financial shape than the Saudis and would face massive shortfalls much sooner, including some US allies. Even the United States, with its current record oil production of 9 million barrels a day, would face a severe recession from lowered oil revenue, should prices not rebound.

Low Oil Prices Bankrupt OPEC in Five Years - Rest of World Does it in Three - Video - TheStreet

The International Monetary Fund predicts Saudi Arabia could be broke and have a fiscal deficit of 21.6 percent of its gross national product in five years as oil prices continue to linger at low levels.

IMF: Saudi Arabia to Run Out of Cash in Less Than 5 Years Amid Cheap Oil

Low oil prices will wipe out an estimated $360 billion from the region this year alone, the IMF said. Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil producer, needs to sell oil at around $106 to balance its budget, according to IMF estimates. The kingdom barely has enough fiscal buffers to survive five years of $50 oil, the IMF said.

IMF: Saudi Arabia to Run Out of Cash in Less Than 5 Years Amid Cheap Oil

Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s decision to put on ice its Carmon Creek drilling project, announced Tuesday, lengthens the list of oil-sands developments that companies have scrapped or deferred in the market downturn to 18, according to ARC Financial Corp.

Oil-Sands Exodus Seen Curbing Canada Economic Growth After 2020 - Bloomberg Business