1) As the dust settles on the OPEC meeting, we don’t have long to wait before the next whirlwind arrives to stir things up. The Doha meeting of OPEC and NOPEC members is a week today, where OPEC will express to key NOPEC members (Russia, Oman, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Mexico and others?) that their production cut of 1.2 million barrels per day hinges on NOPEC cutting by 600,000 bpd.

Russia has said it will do the heavy-lifting for NOPEC, committing to a 300,000 bpd cut. Parallels can be drawn betwixt Saudi and Russia. Just as Saudi has kept production elevated in recent months – when it usually sees a seasonal post-summer swoon – Russian production has just reached a new post-Soviet era high, averaging 11.21 million barrels per day last month. (Production peak at 11.23mn bpd). The ole ‘ramp up n’ cut‘ is becoming a familiar theme.

2) Although brighter times lie a...