A cartel is an organisation of producers grouped together for their own benefit. The most well known cartel in existence today is OPEC, Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries. Its members are some (but not all) of the most important oil producing countries including Saudi Arabia and Mexico. Most cartels try to raise prices at the expense of consumers.
The aim of this essay is to determine whether OPEC has been a successful cartel, this will mean I have to examine the strengths and weaknesses of OPEC which have been present throughout their existence of supplying oil. This should allow me to make an appropriate judgement on whether OPEC has been a successful Cartel.
The history of oil prices can give me important information on how
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Political events in the Middle East saw Iraq invade Kuwait, as a result oil sanctions were applied to the output of both countries by oil consuming countries. Other oil producing countries feared of a major shortage in supply as prices rose from $18 to $40 a barrel; as a result other non-OPEC countries reacted by increasing production in oil. Prices fell back as overall supply returned to normal. Since the successful counter by the US to retake Kuwait, the price of oil has seen a steady drift downwards in price. This has also led to OPEC losing out due to more countries increasing production in oil; causing an increase in competition.
Restricting competition is not necessarily easy. There are three potential problems that OPEC has to overcome due to it being a cartel. These are explained below:
An agreement has to be reached
The larger the number of firms, the greater the possibility that at least one key firm participant will refuse to collude. In the case of OPEC, this may well be difficult due to political disagreement that has regularly occurred during OPEC 's history.
Cheating has to be prevented
Once an agreement is made and profitability in the industry is raised, it would pay an individual firm to cheat so long as no other firms do the same. In the case of OPEC, with the increase in non-OPEC supply has led to strains among OPEC members. This has led to an increased incentive to cheat(mentioned further on in the essay).
High desiel prices are a consequence of capitalism. As all fuel prices have been going up people are blaming the federal govenerment. They believe the president has influence of derterming the outcomes of tensions betwwen Israel and Iran. Some people blame incrased prices based on fears around the world. It all comes down to one thing to blame, capitalism. Calitalism can be great to an economic system because of its emphasis on efficienc and inbradible success rate at allowing those who control the means of production and resources to meet the demands of those with purchasing power. Capitalism is constantly evolveing and will impact the gap between current and future goals on oil prices.
Due to uncertainty, firms may want to ensure a stable amount of profit, collusion may be an option for them.
An important aspect to be pondered is the tradeoff amongst the oligopolies between cooperation and self-interest. On the whole it would always be better for the oligopolists if they cooperate amongst themselves and reach the monopoly situation. But as they further their self-interest, they fail to attain the monopoly situation and maximizing their mutual profit. Every ologopolist is lured to hike
Maya Angelou is a famous writer known for her ability to draw a reader into her story. In her novel I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings Angelou uses literary elements to grab the reader's attention and pull him or her into the story. A literary element is a device used by an author to add detail to a story. Some examples of literary elements could be setting, foreshadowing and style. In Angelou's novel she uses four major literary elements; irony, dialect, theme, and symbolism.
Exxon and Chevron are no doubt some of the leading incorporated oil companies on the globe. Exxon Corp. is the second largest oil firm after Royal Dutch Shell, it is respected for getting the biggest revenue return in 2008 which no company in the U.S. have ever reported before. According to Wilson (2009) Chevron has managed to show a lot of profitability in the market despite the decease in its oil production. It graded as one of firms which made a billion dollars profit within a week in the period of July to September 2008. Regardless of profitability trends set by the two oil firms in the U.S. market, they have been facing financial decline like the rest of the companies in other industries. The two firms are like two sailing ships which are taking longer time to sink. In the last few years, the production capacity of Chevron and Exxon has decreased and their listings on the stock market have become weak. The continuation of construction and drilling which requires billions of dollars in expense of oil production might make them experience a bigger financial crisis (Wilson, 2009).
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
As most of the world knows oil prices have been plunging downwards since June 2014, in which a barrel of oil has fallen more than 70 percent from that time, was $90- $100 a barrel, now $40 a barrel and approaching $30 a barrel. This fall basically came about due to rapid increase in global oil production which started to exceed its global demand therefore forcing prices down. “Earnings are down for companies that made record profits in recent years, leading them to decommission more than two-thirds of their rigs and sharply cut investment in exploration and production. Scores of companies have gone bankrupt and an estimated 250,000 oil workers have lost their jobs.” (Krauss, 2016).
However, there is an incentive for them to work together, as they would be able to maximize their profits across the industry rather than competing amongst one another. This way, a cartel can be established to fix selling prices, purchase prices, and reduce production using a variety of tactics.
Let 's say a gas line blows up in a foreign country America is depending on for oil, as soon as that explosion occurs our price for crude oil goes up. January of 2017 saw a rise of 43 cents per barrel because OPEC cut the output of oil that resulted in a draining of oil stockpiles (“US crude settles”, 2017). OPEC plans to meet later in May and analysts feel that their will be an increase in oil prices as a result of the meeting (Landsman, 2017). This means we will be paying more.
"... an open and attractive oil sector for foreign investment, with the appropriate arrangements to explore new fields."
In 1973 the Arab-Israeli war began which resulted in a victory for the Israeli forces due to the artillery assistance from the USA. As retaliation, OPEC instated an embargo limiting the sale of oil to US by Arab countries. At the time, the US was heavily dependent of inexpensive energy with Saudi Arabia being the 4th largest supplier of oil. As a result, gas prices shot up and an extreme shortage ensued. The embargo wounded the US economy through inflation, cost of living rose while paychecks remained the same. Gas stations operated on limited rations of gas and often ran out. At its peak oil hit $35.81 in 1981 and even after the embargo was lifted prices never reverted.
Vaccines, although they do have many benefits, have proven to be the cause of serious and sometimes fatal side effects. The human body has been created and built to run without foreign bodies to enter and harm the cells that allow the body to remain healthy. Some religious beliefs also state that they do not believe in the “poison” that goes into the human bodies with vaccinations. Should public schools, and sometimes even jobs be able to require people to be vaccinated before allowing them into the facility? According to the first amendment written by our founding fathers, United States citizens have the freedom of religion, which includes what they are willing to put into their bodies as stated by their worship.
Chevron Texaco, or Texaco Shell, is the leading competitor to ExxonMobil. Texaco is in the same areas of business as Exxon. Their petroleum products and lubricants are sold in the same markets, stores, and in many cases opposite street corners from each other. The two companies are very similar, but Exxon’s recent petroleum deals in the Middle East and Africa have allowed its stock price to jump ahead for the time being (1). In the industry, the two companies mainly compete for the ability to negotiate for new production. The competition is not made at the pump or at the local auto store. It seems that it’s more important to control oil than it is to sell it quickly. Because oil has so much value and power in the world, the industry is made of semi-friendly companies. Surviving and making as much profit as possible, is more important than trying to put people out of business.
If the defendant has duty of care to the plaintiff and breaches his duty of care, as long as it can be proved that the defendant’s careless conduct causes damage, injury or loss to the plaintiff while the damages are foreseeable, the defendant will be liable to negligence. The following shows why ABC ltd is negligent and therefore liable to Johnny and Kenneth.
The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) aims to coordinate and unify the petroleum policies of its Member Countries and ensure the