17.12.2013 - Watching government: Reconsidering OPEC
Soon after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries held its regular ministerial meeting Dec. 4 in Vienna, the usual question was asked: Does its decision to maintain the group's official production quota level at 30 million b/d even matter? Non-OPEC production continues to rise. So does global demand, particularly in China, India, and other rapidly industrializing nations. Yet OPEC's deliberations every 6 months don't seem to carry the force they once did. One reason may be that it may never have been that effective as a cartel despite the rude awakening consuming nations received when gasoline prices quickly doubled during the 1973 Arab oil embargo, according to one observer...............................................Full Article: Source
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