Investing in Oil

Whether investing in oil as a commodity or oil company shares the following data may give some clues as to the future direction of the price of oil.

Oil is priced in US Dollars (USD or $) and was more than $110 a barrel in July 2014 and $28 a barrel in January 2016.

While low oil prices are good for consumers and energy users, they are not necessarily good for oil produces. Even Saudi Arabia has problems with cheap oil. In 2015 it was producing so much oil that it has depressed the price but still makes a profit. The problem for Saudi Arabia it that it needs more income than the profit it makes on oil to balance its budget. For this and other counties, see the table below:

Price
$160	Venezuela balances its 2014 budget
$130	Iran balances its 2014 budget
$115	Break-even price required for highest cost US shale oil development
$110	Russia balances its 2014 budget
$100	Canadian oil sands mining operations are viable
$90	Saudi Arabia balances its 2014 budget
$50	Kuwait balances its 2014 budget
$40	Break-even price required for lowest cost US shale oil development
$30	Price in January 2016
$8	Break-even price required for Saudi Arabia to make a profit from extracting oil