The deal is open to anyone who can lead harder than Fred, ie. can lead 5.8 or WI4
Even John Millar had a hard time breaking his share of trail when he was out with Fred though. The guy's the ultimate stamina machine.
I don't think they arte any harder to chop, but you sure can't steal the hangers.
However the bolts are already in place here, just hangerless, so replacing them with Longlifes would probably involve drilling new holes
$50 a barrel oil benefits the Saudis in the short term anyways. In the long term, if it promotes oil conservation or oil alternatives, it might not benefit them.