Budget Buster Oil prices are below levels many OPEC and allied nations need to balance their budgets. Fiscal break-even oil price in U.S. dollars, 2018 BRENT $61.50 a barrel 21:07 GMT | Dec. 7 Venezuela $216 Nigeria $127 Libya $114 Bahrain $111 Saudi Arabia $88 Algeria $84 Angola $83 Ecuador $78 Oman $77 Iran $72 United Arab Emirates $72 Kazakhstan $62 Azerbaijan $59 Iraq $55 Russia $53 Kuwait $48 Qatar $47 0 Expand to view all Sources: Renaissance Capital (Russia); ERC Equipoise (Venezuela, Nigeria, Angola, Ecuador); International Monetary Fund (all others) The agreement showcases Russia’s new clout as an oil producer and the importance of its alliance with de facto OPEC leader Saudi Arabia . Cooperation between a Russia-led group of non-OPEC oil nations and the Saudis helped producers prop up prices with deep production cuts in 2017. Not having Russia and other non-OPEC participants “around the table would […]