Word: crude
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
With world oil markets already in shambles, ministers from the 13-nation Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries are planning to gather this weekend in Vienna to make a desperate gamble. They will try to shore up the price of crude on world markets by agreeing to set a production ceiling of 18.5 million bbl. per day, down from 19.2 million bbl. per day currently, and to parcel out the resulting cuts. That is something that the fiercely nationalistic members of the organization have never before managed to achieve. Many Western analysts, emboldened by strife-torn OPEC's recent setbacks...
Over the years, OPEC ministers have had no trouble raising prices to sky-high levels. Now, however, the world is awash with excess crude-2 million to 3 million bbl. of unused oil per day-and the production cuts necessary to firm up the market are more than some members have so far seemed willing to bear...
Several cartel members are short of cash and badly need to sell every barrel of crude they can pump. One such country is Nigeria, which is burdened with a population of 80 million and a superambitious agricultural development program. In a desperate move to boost sales, the government last week threatened to slash a full $5 per bbl. off its officially quoted $36.50 price, in order to compete with non-OPEC oil from the North...
...with low populations and high revenues, this is not creating much hardship. Kuwait has slashed production by 70%, to a mere 650,000 bbl. daily, without difficulty. Indonesia, on the other hand, has a large population and badly needs oil revenue for development. Therefore, it has continued to pump crude at full tilt, helping to sustain a buyer's market...
Petroleum producers that are not OPEC members, and that only a few years ago had little influence over world oil markets, are beginning to make their weight felt. Non-OPEC countries, including Britain, Mexico and the U.S., currently produce about half of the free world's crude and have become an influence on international prices as OPEC'S share has fallen to 43%. Last week the British triggered the latest panic in the world oil market by reducing the price of oil from its 20 North Sea fields from...