I live just a short distance from the Gulf of Mexico, and the economies around here are heavily dependent upon the oil and gas and related industries. Too much of a drop in prices is not good for our local economies in many ways.
Why hasn't China produced their own oil supplies? I am happy as a consumer that I have experienced lower gasoline prices. Yet, I am upset that layoffs are occurring in the North Dakota and Montana oil industries.
I'd assume they are pretty expensive, difficult to obtain like the US. On top of that, I bet there aren't many major oil companies willing to invest in China. I do know that China uses tons of coal so maybe they hope to move to electric for transportation?
Rig count hasn't really changed for the moment, neither has production. If you take a look at the financials of some of the canadian companies you will see the numbers. You will also see the budget cut numbers, just yesterday Suncor said that they will be reducing the 2015 CAPEX by roughly 1 billion. So yes, definitely not good for the people and cities who rely on the oil business. Then again, with ALL of the major oil companies lowering their research funding and putting future projects on hold, it's not too hard to see what that will do to the price of oil in the long run.
I can imagine China will foresee this break for what it is, a 3 year at most period of grace which they can use to become more self reliant. I bet they are very pleased for now though, gives them time to adjust.
