Iraqi & Iranian oil: A challenge to Saudi buying off citizenry

"... “Saudi Arabia’s dilemma is that while it is the key OPEC player willing to cut back oil production in order to sustain prices at desired levels, it is also accommodating Iraq’s rising output and market share,” said Julius Walker, global energy markets strategist at UBS Securities LLC in New York. “Ultimately, there will need to be an agreement between the two as how to balance"

Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi needs to keep prices high enough to fund social spending plans without incurring the wrath of consumers for hurting the global economy. Iraq, now the second-biggest supplier in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, has a different priority: to rebuild its industry after decades of war and 

Arab states are spending billions of dollars on housing and local projects to allay popular unrest after uprisings toppled leaders in Libya, Egypt and Tunisia and sparked a civil war in Syria. Saudi Arabia has committed more than $600 billion in social and infrastructure projects in coming 

Saudi Arabia’s task will become more difficult should Iran resolve its standoff with the international community over nuclear research and resume pumping oil at normal rates. Sanctions against the Islamic Republic, once OPEC’s second-biggest producer, have cut its exports by 50 percent, according to the International Energy Agency..."