Word: opec
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...steady prices, and join at least a tacit American-sponsored "strategic consensus" to deter Soviet thrusts into the region. But approval of the arms sale by no means guarantees that these American dreams will come true. A day after the Senate vote, at a meeting of the OPEC cartel in Geneva, the Saudis went along with a pricing agreement that would lower the top prices charged by some members but would also increase the cost of Saudi crude by $2 per bbl. In the eyes of some radical Arab states, the AWACS deal does not indicate that friendship with Washington...
...outcome of last week's meeting was far different from any in nearly two years. Instead of long and bitter talks that ended in a deadlock over the price they should charge for oil, the OPEC ministers needed just nine hours and ten minutes to agree on a new base price of $34 per bbl., $2 more than the current rate for Saudi Arabian light crude but $2 less than the bench-mark level they have been using as a pricing guide since last December. Moreover, the oil producers said that the price would remain at that rate through...
Last week's agreement, though, was a decision imposed on OPEC by outside events rather than a sign of its unity. The world has become less dependent on expensive crude. Oil demand in the consuming countries fell 8% in 1980 and dropped an additional 8% in the first half of this year. This has helped create a non-Communist world surplus for the past twelve months...
...face of declining demand, some OPEC prices have been tumbling. Members like Nigeria and Libya, which last January were demanding $40 and more for a barrel of their precious product, have been forced to cut rates in an effort to unload their crude. Nigeria slashed its prices twice, during the summer and autumn, to $34.50. Libya reduced its price by $1 per bbl., but sales still dropped by 60%. Underscoring the weakness in the world market, the big U.S. oil companies last week reported sharp profit drops for the period from July through September. Exxon's earnings fell...
...Geneva meeting was an emergency session aimed at containing the damage. Most of the OPEC members believed that they could eliminate the turmoil in world oil markets if Saudi Arabia would only lower its production. Saudi Arabia is the dominant member of the organization, producing almost one-half of total output. The desert kingdom has long sought unified and slightly lower prices in order to preserve its markets and prevent the consuming nations from seeking alternative energy sources. But since other producers would not agree to Saudi demands, that country has attempted to drive down the cost of crude...