Not sure who the Saudis are more afraid of, the Russians or the shale fields. Seems they are intent on keeping market share. The bad thing for the US is that low oil prices could stall our push to become energy independent. That is the last thing the Saudis want to see. On the other hand, perhaps using their oil first is better in the long term for US national security. Wall Street as usual is more interested in short term profits and could care less if the Saudis drive US oil producers out of business. For consumers lower gas prices seem great now but "they" say it could hurt our overall economy. I guess that's true if you are employed by Big Oil. However, lower transportation costs should also translate into lower prices for other goods and services which in turn should spur consumer spending. This will probably help companies like Ford sell more of their less efficient vehicles like the F-150. They are probably kicking themselves now for spending all that money on aluminum bodies. All I know is that it will be very interesting to see how all of this plays out...