Saudis want lower oil prices too

We are all impacted by the high oil prices. This is a fact of life and something that we will all have to adjust to in the days, weeks, months and years to come. We long for the relatively low oil prices of $2.50/gallon.

Ironically, the world's largest oil producing nation is starting to long for those prices also. The fear that the Saudis have is that the party may be coming to an end. They believe that these extremely high prices may be pushing us to a pain point that causes us to embrace conservation and alternative energies. These solutions would ultimately lead us to use less of their crude oil and therefore reduce the amount of money that flows into their coffers.

When you combine this with the fact that many people are becoming concerned about climate change and that the Saudis best friends in Washington will be packing up and leaving in 6 months, they are starting to see their "perfect storm". Less pro-Saudi political pull, more concern for carbon emissions, and total frustration over high fuel prices they can only come to one logical conclusion - it is better to have lower prices and long term viability than higher prices and global animosity.

Of course if the Saudis can lower the price of crude in the next few months (prior to the November Presidential election) Senator McCain's chances of winning the White House will improve. With gas prices at $4.00+/gallon the Republican party will have a much more challenging time winning the White House.

It will be interesting how this plays out over the next year or two, but one thing is certain. They will do all that they can to maintain their global position which includes lowering crude prices.