There’s growing evidence that Saudi Arabia’s attempt to flood the crude market at a time of oversupply and concerns about weakening demand is not working, American oil billionaire Harold Hamm said Tuesday.
“We’re in a predatory pricing environment. That’s what’s happened. The Saudis turned 1.8 million barrels on, and basically their intent was to drown us. But they’ve not got that done. It’s been a monumental mistake for them, I might add, a trillion- dollar mistake,” the founder and chief of Oklahoma-based Continental Resources told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”
Hamm cited speculation that Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil giant, may sell at least part of its operations in an initial public offering.
“They’re having to sell part of their business to keep doing what they are doing,” he said, referring to the refusal by the Saudis to cut production. “They’re having to sustain a country. We’re sustaining companies here. We cut capex and quit spending money. And ride it out.”
Pressure may be mounting on Saudi Arabia from fellow OPEC members, as crude prices continued to trade around 12-year lows Tuesday morning. Nigeria’s oil minister said a couple members of OPEC have requested an emergency meeting. But other members said the group won’t be gathering to talk about oil prices before their next scheduled meeting in June.
