Your explanation fails. Italy, Portugal, and Spain went broke precisely when oil hit $147/barrel. Their only similarity: they have no oil and use the most oil. The hardest hit Euro nations are those most dependent on gasoline and diesel. Cause and Effect. I am not willing to discuss oil economics with one who has so completely swallowed the pill that our consumer oligopoly feeds one. You should stick to the oil business and forget the dismal science.
No, you are not willing to discuss oil economics because you know nothing about them. If you think for one minute there is anyone out there who spent time on the senior executive of oil companies that doesn’t understand oil economics then you really do have your head inserted someplace where the sun doesn’t shine. As was explained a few times in the past the global credit crisis was truly global. That is what caused the economies of the US and then a number of European countries to begin to tank. (because of the interconnection of bank mortgage debts through derivatives). The fall in oil prices was a consequence not a cause of the credit crisis.
Do I really need to link to all those articles by economists describing the credit crisis and how it went global once again?
But more importantly your use of Spain and Portugal as examples blows your theory all to pieces given Spains consumption of oil increased from 1191 Kbpd in 2014 to 1268 Kbpd in 2016 with a 2% increase from 2015 to 2016. Portugal likewise saw an increase in consumption from 1184 Kbpd to 1232 Kbpd between 2014 and 2016 and a 1% increase in consumption in 2016. So the countries you are using as your poster children for economies that can no longer afford oil actually are increasing their oil demand. But then again you never did like actual data, easier to just make it up.
And also Spain, Portugal and Italy account for about 2% of the global oil consumption. What is happening there is rather inconsequential to the global picture of oil demand, which the BP latest report has confirmed is still growing.