The Saudi's have been trying very desperately to keep the price of oil below the threshold where that occurs.
This is one of the most batshit insane things I've ever read. What on Earth would make you think this?
Of course the open question is how long will this last? If this situation ends this week (seems unlikely but...) people will go back to what they did before and forget about this until the next oil crisis - just like every other one. However if this drags on a few years expect major changes in energy mix as people find other answers. Either way, wind/solar are cheap and so utilities around the world are looking to get some installed because it is generally a great investment.
I think real irony is that Iran keeps shipping oil to China and India. At which point US will start nabbing these tankers?
Whose?