Companies are incentivized to produce more oil as long as it is profitable. They're not going to stop producing oil if they're getting less per barrel. In fact,

Companies are incentivized to produce more oil as long as it is profitable. They're not going to stop producing oil if they're getting less per barrel. In fact, they'll be motivated to produce more because they want to increase profits. Further -- the medium and short term supply of oil is determined by existing infrastructure, which already exists. (Oil sands facilities in Canada, for example, were extremely expensive to build, but are now profitable if oil is at $20 a barrel.) To say that oil companies won't increase supply if prices go down is like saying you'll stop breathing if there's less air. You'll actually, in all likelihood, just breath more. In terms of supply -- the amount of supply very closely matches demand. A shift of less than 1% of supply versus demand shouldn't be allowed to send the economy into a recession, much less subsidize Russia's war efforts. Supply/demand can (and should) be mediated by sensible regulations. Just as with drug pricing -- buyers should be able to negotiate. Oil sellers operate cartels. Buyers should as well. https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/steo/report/global_oil.php https://www.eia.gov/outlooks/steo/report/global_oil.php