Trump’s Oil Deal: The Inside Story of How the Price War Ended

Trump’s Oil Deal: The Inside Story of How the Price War Ended

After a week-long marathon of calls between world leaders and video conferences featuring dozens of energy ministers, it was the moment the 2020 oil price war finally ended.. The historic deal had almost been derailed by a fight between Saudi Arabia and Mexico's populist government, forcing President Donald Trump to step in and broker a face-saving solution.. Moscow and Riyadh will both reduce daily production by millions of barrels, spearheading a global agreement between almost all the world's major oil producers to rein in output.. The biggest winner appears to be Trump, who refused to deliberately cut American oil production, but was still able to broker the final deal.. The president sealed the historic deal by offering the Saudis something that exists only on paper.. The decline in American production would be driven by prices, demand, and capacity in pipelines or tanks, not presidential press conferences.. Angered by Russia's refusal to cut and Novak's talk of higher production, Saudi Arabia embarked on a shock-and-awe price war.. Drillers in Texas and other states had turned America into the world's largest oil producer, creating millions of jobs.. It hit a record of 12.323 million barrels a day -- enough to meet the