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How much oil-market buffer is left?

116 points · 180 comments · mcone

  1. formerly_proven · · focus · HN ↗
    The real question is how quickly demand can be destroyed.
    1. manofmanysmiles · · focus · HN ↗
      I am hesitant to ask, and yet morbidly curious what you are gesturing at.
      1. seanmcdirmid · · focus · HN ↗
        I'm guessing China? China has shown the world that it can tolerate the shock, and it was even a huge boon for them as they are successfully exporting excess EV production. World demand is significant, China alone was expected to increase world oil demand to a breaking point, and that isn't happening, and in fact, China is exporting oil demand destruction.
        1. kasey_junk · · focus · HN ↗
          China has almost certainly been dramatically drawing down their oil reserves. They don’t publish trustworthy numbers on it like western countries do, but their import rates dropped too fast for any other explanation.

          That’s not to say they haven’t done a phenomenal job with demand destruction it’s just their own domestic usage is still very high and they have to import unlike other heavy users.

          1. Buttons840 · · focus · HN ↗
            China reducing their oil imports was a huge boon to the entire world. China basically said "look everyone, we're strong, we'll reduce oil imports to help the rest of the world, and that will benefit all of us together, and also we're manufacturing and selling EVs and solar panels".

            China is showing the world they have reached the lofty ideal of being a functional society, and I hate that an authoritarian Communist government was how they did it. I don't want to live under such a government, but I can't deny it's looking like a stronger form of government right now.

            For the rest of us, if we want democracy to be better than authoritarian Communism, then we actually have to do the "be better" part.

            1. axiologist · · focus · HN ↗
              > For the rest of us, if we want democracy to be better than authoritarian Communism, then we actually have to do the "be better" part.

              Only problem is that the current reality of authoritarian capitalism in the US isn't helping democracy at all.

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