RELATED ARTICLESJuly 2009 June 2009 - The beginning of the endJune 2009 - Chinese oil imports are on the rise again. But are they the first signs of economic recovery in the country – and for global energy markets? Derek Brower reportsMarch 2009 - Falling oil prices are playing havoc with the ambitions of the world's petro-nationalist countries. Venezuela has some backtracking to do. Derek Brower reportsJanuary 2009 - GM and Chrysler, two of the US' biggest car makers, could be bankrupt by the time you read this, writes Derek Brower
Free Preview
What motivates Opec
Falling oil prices have put Opec into crisis mode and prompted another cut in quotas last month. Derek Brower looks at what its members need from the market
"SOMETIMES the market is overshooting upwards and downwards, and this time it is definitely happening downwards." When even the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA), Nobuo Tanaka, agrees that the price of oil is too low, you know Opec has a job on its hands. That the IEA and Opec's interests are aligning makes sense. The agency's role is to defend the interests of consumers in the OECD and pressure producers to put more affordable oil on the market. But the IEA is well aware that cheap oil eventually leads to a slow-down in production – often just as demand picks up. Falling prices are already undermining investment in new fields, Khalid al-Falih, soon to become the head of Saudi Aramco, said last month. Meanwhile, oil exports remain not just the main business of many Opec members, but their only real one. Angola's total exports in 2007, for example, generated ...Click here to continue reading What motivates Opec
|
