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For 15 months now, Saudi Arabia’s 81-year-old celebrity oil minister, Ali al-Naimi, has taken on the role of the global oil market’s top disruptor and been a thorn in the side of emerging competitors such as Canada.

“Lower costs, borrow cash or liquidate,” he told delegates with his typical bluster at a Houston energy conference in late February, further inflaming the war for market share between Saudi Arabia and its North American competitors.

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It wasn’t a new strategy for the Saudis, who have repeatedly played the role of global oil adjudicators when markets don’t work in their favour. This time around, though, the Saudis are contributing to the continuing oil glut by turning the taps at full blast and claiming they have the right to the biggest piece of the market because they can produce oil for less.

“Cutting low-cost production to subsidize higher-cost supplies only delays an inevitable reckoning,” Naimi said.