Competitive Enviroment Of World Oil Markets

They formed the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC. Since the OPEC was instated to protect the interests of oil producers, it could be seen as an example of regional integration. The OPEC is widely considered, throughout the world, as a cartel. This would be an intellectual misconception. The concept of cartel would consider oligarchies limiting competition and monopolies increasing prices. Oppositely, many international oil producers are not members of the OPEC. These non-members saw a fourfold increase in the oil prices, during the 1973 oil embargo. In A history of the modern Middle East, William L. Cleveland and Martin Bunton stated that the immediate objective of the OPEC was “to utilize the collective bargaining power of its member states to pressure the Western oil companies to increase oil prices.”. However, the birth of the OPEC did not occur, overnight. In 1947, the Venezuelan and Iranian delegations held talks in Washington, to coordinate their oil policies. In OPEC: Past and Present, Abdul Amir Q. Kubbah stated that the Arab league had a project of creating an “association of Arab oil-producing countries.”, since 1945. The first OPEC-type grouping occurred in 1953, when Iraqi and Saudi delegates joined forces. The agreement between these two states was the first to involve cooperation from both governments. The Arab League held a summit in Cairo, in 1959. During that summit, “views have been exchanged concerning the

The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) aims to coordinate and unify the petroleum policies of its Member Countries and ensure the

Globally, the largest consumers of oil are the world’s most advanced and developed industrial nations. These nations include the United States, Germany, Russia, and the United Kingdom. However, over the past few decades several nations from Asia and the Far East have become officially classified as major oil consuming nations, including China and Japan.

Our world economy depends upon petroleum; petroleum, in fact, has shaped the modern world. It has dictated production technologies and methods. It has facilitated the emergence of a worldwide transportation network. It has allowed cites to grow and expand, and determined the spatial landscape of regions. Due to our great need for petroleum, the scope of OPEC¡¦s power surpasses our prowess as an economic superpower, considering OPEC regulates the output and the price of oil from their reserves.

The 1970s is a significant period in the U.S. oil and gas history. American oil production was declining steadily and imports from mainly Arab producers were relied on to shore up the shortfall. The Arab states, which constituted the majority of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), imposed an oil embargo in October 1973 against the U.S. and a number of other industrialized nations that backed Israel during the 1973 Arab-Israeli War. Not only did the sanction ban petroleum exports to the target nations, it also introduced cuts in oil production. As a result, between 1972 and 1982, oil prices increased more than tenfold.

Oil and gas have been the world’s commercial energy sources in recent century and it still remain this important role in the 21st century. As industrial productions have grown by approximately 50 times during the 20th century, this led to tremendous increasing of the energy consumption. Presently, oil and gas account for almost 40 per cent of the world energy sources because they are unique commodities and easy to transport in many areas with low costs. The advances of technologies make petroleum become cleaner, safer and more efficient energy. Consequently, oil and gas could meet more strictly environmental regulations and comply with the widely demands of sustainable development. However, petroleum is a scarce resource and the demands of energy consumption will be increased. Humans try to improve recovery rates by enhancing technology and developing infrastructure for better accessibility. Presently, the volatility and high prices of oil market have been a significant cause for concerning among many countries. Even the increasing price trend in recent year, the market has still remained

        Oil prices in the years 2000-2001 rose due to OPEC's decision to cut the supply of oil that was being produced. Foreign relations with the United States did little to the price increase of

Thus most industrial nations wanted to change their dependency upon oil, which sparked many efforts in oil conservation, restrictions, and research into alternative energy resources. This issue has caused many problems in international relations there and even today it is the root of political skirmishes. Many countries believed that the oil companies should be broken up so that there would not be any monopoly in this giant industry. This time of exploration was iconic because of the pressure in the oil industry. Also, there was a prediction during this time that made a close connection between economic health and the control of oil resources.

The demand for oil has been predicted to increase despite the high price of oil. Sources of the demand for oil continue to increase with time worldwide. As countries industrialize and develop, their oil consumption increases together with their economy. Examples of countries that have their economy growing fastest and steadily are India and China. These two countries have their economy growing and the impact their economic growth has on oil demand is great. Some developed countries are also about to change their habits on oil demand. This will be likely adapted faster if the prices of oil continue to rise. Oil prices are determined by the traders and speculators who control and manipulate the future oil market (Anderson, 1).

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was formed in 1960 to unify the policies of oil exporting countries in the Middle East (About Us). During the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, the United States and Netherlands helped Israel in this war with supplies. This angered OPEC countries and acted as a catalyst for the 1973 oil embargo (Reid). Many countries in OPEC and most notably Saudi Arabia, wanted Israel to retreat from territories they gained during the war (Reid). The embargo that resulted caught many Western countries flat footed and sparked a global recession.

In 1973, Arab states and Israel were in the midst of war. In retaliation of the U.S. resupplying Israeli military, Arab members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) initiated an embargo against the United States and other countries that supported Israel. This embargo banned petroleum exports to certain countries, introduced cuts in oil production, and had a drastic effect on the U.S. economy (Oil Embargo, 1973–1974). It led to quadrupling oil prices and oil shortages that led to a widespread crisis across the United States and other countries facing the embargo. The crisis caused a global realization that the world seemed to be running out of oil and provided incentive to look to alternative energy

The oil age has become an age of inequality. The discovery of oil has brought the wealth of a few people, and has brought misery to most people. Many oil rich countries suffer from the distortion of the economic development, the financial instability, the increasing gap between the rich and the poor, the serious

After 1980, oil prices decreased for first time in twenty years. As the 90s approached, oil exporting countries expanded production. The USSR became the top producer, and the US ramped up alaskan oil, causing a loss of power for OPEC.

The United States is the largest consumer of gasoline in the world. Not only do we use more than any other country in the world, but our usage is almost twice as much as the second largest consumer in the world. We need gasoline to power our cars, boats, and the modes of transportation we use to transport the goods we produce from one place to another. But what determines the price we pay for this precious commodity? Gasoline is produced from the refining of crude oil. We import and produce oil by the barrel. One barrel of unrefined oil produces approximately 19 gallons of gasoline. The crude oil we import is a commodity, and the world market is what determines the price of these barrels of oil, along with demand. The world demand can be controlled in a couple different ways. First, The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which is an oil cartel whose members are some of the largest oil producing countries in the world, control the amount of oil that is put into the world market. By controlling the amount available they can control the demand from countries that mainly rely on this import. The

World oil demand is increasing as emerging economies need more energy to increase their living standards. Estimates, shown below, are that by 2030, China and India as emerging markets will import over 70% to 90% of their fossil fuel needs (1) . Coupled to a continued high and growing demand for oil, makes this a robust market for the next 30 years.