Two broad themes have dominated analyses about the failure of OPEC+ to arrive at a new consensus on oil production cuts on March 6, 2020. The first explores the sources of disagreement between Saudi Arabia and Russia that informed the split. The second examines the fallout, with consuming countries typically assumed to be the winners of the situation thanks to lower oil import bills. Much less explored is a third theme, namely, the paths toward a resolution of the oil price war. While the first theme has already been well explored, the other two have not and this article will seek to fill this gap. In particular, it will focus on answering three key questions related to these two themes. First, is China the major beneficiary of the oil price war? Second, what is the pain threshold of the key protagonists, such as Russia and Saudi Arabia? Finally, will market forces play a decisive role in ending the oil price war?
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