The U.S. shale revolution helped avert a “major, major energy chaos” in the world, OPEC’s Secretary General Mohammed Barkindo said in a somewhat puzzling interview with CNBC this week. Barkindo was also quite delicate in his reference to the role U.S. shale played in the latest price crash, which, together with the praise, suggests the official head of the cartel is trying to make peace with any and all amid discussions in U.S. Congress about anti-OPEC legislation that would make its members liable to prosecution under U.S. antitrust laws. Barkindo said OPEC had saved the global oil industry in 2016 when it struck the original production cut deal that saw almost 1.8 million bpd removed from global supply, but added that U.S. shale had helped to avoid a crisis, possibly implying a shortage of crude as demand rose. The comments are somewhat contradictory: “The decisions that OPEC took, together […]