Americans are rejoicing. Having cheaper gas is a good thing, right?

Well, maybe not. A lot of countries and micro economies may stop functioning if oil prices

dip too low. One of the biggest examples is Russia. Since the most recent drop in oil

prices,

Russia’s currency, the ruble, saw the biggest one-day decline since 1998. This is

because oil and natural gas make up about 70% of the country’s exports, the second

highest

in the world, and Russia gets more than half of its budget from oil revenues. This drop

ensures

more financial hardships and less economic growth in a country already dealing with numerous

international sanctions.

Some argue that the combination of the economic loss plus the estimated 40 billion Russia

is losing from sanctions might put enough pressure on Vladimir Putin to end his conflict

with

Ukraine. But it’s not likely. Putin has been quoted being optimistic about his country's

oil

problems, citing the upcoming winter which will bring cold weather and with it, a higher

demand

for oil. But this is strictly speculation and history may have a way of repeating itself.

Many blame

the fall of the Soviet Union in the 1980’s partly on a decline in oil prices.

Other major oil producing nations, like Iran, Nigeria and Venezuela have their own struggles.

In fact, Venezuela’s economic woes have already led to countrywide violent rioting.

The country

is suffering from high levels of inflation, which has led to a scarcity of simple products

like toilet

paper and toothpaste. One analyst was quoted saying that for Venezuela to be able to balance

its budget, oil prices would need to hit $200 a barrel. The money lost from the new drops

in oil

prices has forced the government to make major cuts and increase taxes, something that will

not help ease the unrest.

So, lower oil prices could cause entire countries to fail, but they aren’t the only people

affected. Lower oil prices could also hurt the fracking industry and put thousands of

Americans

out of work.

Fracking is an expensive process and in order for those companies to make a profit, they

have to sell their oil at a high price. If the price dips low enough, they’ll have

to stop drilling. This

would be a major blow to states like North Dakota, Oklahoma and Texas where fracking

has

been likened to the dot com bubble.

To find out more about that, check out our video on the current US oil boom and how much

oil the US is actually producing.