Since the collapse of the OPEC+ meetings and in the wake of seismic demand destruction from COVID-19, both Saudi Arabia and Russia have been in a battle of who will blink first with commitments to increase production in the hopes of forcing the other back to the table to recommence production cut discussions. However as of today, there has been no face saving solution for either to MBS or Putin to back down and even Trump's calls to OPEC/Russia to (ironically) help lift oil prices have been ignored.
Despite the strong stance and hard talk by MBS and Putin, neither Saudi or Russia have actually significantly ramped up oil production to date. State-controlled oil companies in the two countries have reportedly hesitated before ramping up production in a show of careful navigation to avoid sending the entire oil & gas industry into oblivion in the potential absence of a winner-takes-all outcome which is becoming more and more apparent.
