The Biggest Winners and Unluckiest Losers of the Oil Crash

Winner: Airlines

Companies are saving on fuel and not passing it on to customers. Bank of America predicts airline earnings will gain 73 percent in 2015. 

Loser: Russia

The joke about Vladimir Putin's age, the oil price, and the ruble's value against the dollar all hitting 63 next year has Russians laughing. Nervously.

 

Winner: American Motorists

$3 gas? $2 gas!
 

Loser: Keystone XL Pipeline

Cheaper oil challenges the economics of developing Canada's oil sands. Some say the industry has already moved on.

 

Winner: Apollo Global Management

The New York buyout firm, run by billionaire Leon Black, announced the sale of shale driller Athlon Energy to EnCana on Sept. 29—before oil dropped 29 percent.

Loser: Iran

Already hamstrung by sanctions over its nuclear program, Tehran needs oil at $130.50 a barrel to balance its budget, the IMF estimates.

Winner: Saudi Arabia

The desert kingdom flexed its muscle at November's OPEC meeting by overruling members, showing that it's still the boss. It needs about $97.50 a barrel to balance its budget, but it's got $736 billion banked up.

Loser: Railroads

Train stocks fell as investors bet that lower oil prices would curtail rail shipments, which have been surging—and accident-prone.

Winner: Pierre Andurand

The 37-year-old London hedge fund manager piled up an 18 percent gain in November shorting oil.

Loser: Indebted U.S. Drillers

Drilling in some regions of Texas, Oklahoma and North Dakota is unprofitable at current prices. Hardest hit include independents like Halcon Resources, Goodrich Petroleum and SandRidge Energy, which together owe more than $10 for every barrel they expect to pull out of the ground.

Winner: China

Now the world's second-biggest importer, China is taking advantage of slumping prices to build up strategic stockpiles. Cheaper fuel could reverse China's slowing economy and make it easier for the central bank to cut interest rates.

Loser: Venezuela

Venezuela, OPEC's weakest member, could face civil strife and a devalued currency.

Winner: Ed Morse of Citigroup

Citigroup's head of commodities research said early and often that surging U.S. oil production would drive down prices. His prediction of $75 a barrel went further than other analysts. Now it seems quaint.

Loser: Harold Hamm

One of fracking's leading cheerleaders has lost more than $12 billion in three months -- half his fortune, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. ``Nobody’s going to go out there and drill areas, exploration areas and other areas, at a loss,'' he said.