Impact of OPEC's Oil Pricing on the Petroleum Market

In terms of oil dependence, most of the general public believes that the world has enough oil to support us for the next hundred years; in truth we are rapidly depleting our petroleum sources due to the increasing population and demand. In fact, as was initially theorized by the Hubbert Peak Theory in 1950, Earth peaked in oil supplies in 1973 and the largest oil resources that have been discovered since then have been in Venezuela and Saudi Arabia. Here it must be

In 2016, the crude oil price movement prices were unpredictable. The OPEC reference basket dropped 10 percent to $43.22 per pound. The ICE Brent and NYMEX WTI both went down by 8.4 percent with ICE Brent at $47.08 per pound and NYMEX WTI at $45.76 per pound. This showed that there were uncertainties in the petroleum market. The future prices were predicted for 2017 that it would move higher. The World’s economic growth predictions was the same at 2.9% for 2016 but increased to 3.1% for 2017. Because of the 3rd quarter of 2016 in Japan and US, the OCED growth went from 1.6% to 1.7%. The demand for oil growth in 2016 has been increasing slightly to 1.24 mb/d. In 2017, the demand will be predicted with a decrease to 1.15 mb/d. OECD will

Several oil-countries have been facing economic and political turbulence as a result of the crash in oil prices, and there is disagreement among OPEC as how to handle the situation. (Krauss) While this is happening, America’s oil production continues to rise, as it inches closer to becoming an energy superpower in production and consumption; and countries that depend on their oil exports face recession.

It is estimated that 1.3 trillion barrels of oil reserve is left in the world’s major fields (Institution of Mechanical Engineers 2015). At present rates of consumption this will be enough oil to last approximately 40 years. By 2040, it is intended for production levels may be down to 15 million barrels per day which is approximately 20% of the amount of oil which is currently being consumed (Institution of Mechanical Engineers 2015). It is likely by the year 2040 that the world’s population will be twice as large (United States Census Bureau 2015). Additionally, it is likely that more of the world will be industrialized and therefore more dependent upon oil.

In a revealing article by George Perry (2001) the author discusses the economic impact that a disruption in the oil supplies would have on world oil prices. He states “Currently 28 percent of the world's crude oil comes from the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) consisting of Arab Muslim nations, some of which are not part of the OPEC cartel. The governing regimes in all these countries are at some risk [due to the war on terrorism].” He goes on to state that in a worst case scenario the economic consequences of oil supply disruption would be “oil prices rise to $161 per barrel driving gasoline price to $4.84 per gallon. The increase in the nation's bill for products of crude oil rises by about 10 percent of GDP, which adds perhaps 15 percent to the inflation rate in the first year. And the recession is the steepest and deepest of the postwar period, with GDP declining nearly 5 percent the first year.”

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.

According to current estimates, more than 80% of the world's proven oil reserves are located in OPEC Member Countries, with the bulk of OPEC oil reserves in the Middle East, amounting to around 66% of the OPEC total (OPEC Share of World Crude Oil Reserves, 2014). Competition amongst the U.S. and the Middle East has never reached this level before. There is a constant tension between the two countries and refuse to collaborate in dividing the market share equally. Furthermore, as both nations refuse any bipartisan agreement, there is no limiting the production of oil. Each nation is looking to drive out competition by any means. What they don’t realize is if they cooperated and reached an agreement amongst the international community, oil will remain profitable just as it was a few years ago. Though, this is unlikely to happen any time soon, but will eventually cause Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries to take a drastic decision when their main source of capital plummets due to the current price of oil. Profits are no longer seen in the oil industry. The Price of oil has been selling at around $50-$60 per barrel, not enough to cover production cost. The United States is able to withstand any contraction within the oil sector, as their financial portfolio is diversified, not solely reliant on the price of

The first section sets the foundation for Roberts’ discussion by discussing the current environment surrounding the oil business. According to Roberts, energy is related to flourishing and decline of the human race. Only when a community has the ability to provide enough energy to meet the demand of the population can that community thrive (Roberts 2004). Roberts argues this correlation explains how and why the international community has become dependent on oil. The second section discusses the present situation and introduces what Roberts calls the energy order, which is a term that describes a social hierarchical ranking of countries based off of their energy consumption, their ability to produce or access to oil. The third and final part combines the discussion of parts one and two in relation to the future. Roberts argues that the current model with currently have is not working and offers a discussion on transitioning to a new model with less demand for oil. In order for this to occur, the United States, which consumes the most energy annually and has enough political and economic influence, must lead the way (Roberts

In the 21st century three leading producers of oil; United States with 13.7 million barrels per day, Saudi Arabia with 11.9 million barrels per day, and Russia is extracting 11 million barrels of oil per day in 2015. At the moment 50% of United State’s domestic consumption is met by the oil it produces while the other 50% must come from foreign oil to meet demands. The U.S. imports almost as much oil as we produce. Saudi Arabia is the world leading exporter of oil and heads OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries). It is the world’s most powerful group because it controls 80% of the world’s oil and therefore is extremely influential in country’s economic system. The policies developed by OPEC directly affect the production of oil globally. It was formed at the Baghdad Conference in 1960 by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela. Venezuela alone harbors 20% of the world’s oil. As OPEC memberships of countries were suspended other countries joined. Today, 13 member countries: Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. These countries bare the unalienable right to manage their natural resources in the interest of their progress as a nation under the “Declaratory Statement of Petroleum Policy in Member Countries” adopted by OPEC in 1968. OPEC aims to “co-ordinate and unify petroleum policies among Member Countries, in order to secure

The oil price collapse between June 2014 and January 2015 was the third largest of the past 30 years and was driven by a combination of few conditions. (Kose, Ohnsorge, Stocker, 2015). It fell by about 50 percent between those periods and consisted of several phase. Initially, in June 2014, the oil price of Brent oil drops from $110 per barrel to $80 per barrel before the OPEC meeting in late November. The second phase of oil price drop occur in the early of January 2015, where oil price drops to below $50 per barrel. This drop however was recovered slightly on May 2015, when oil price rise to about $65 per barrel. After the OPEC meeting, the price of oil was adjusted rapidly to about $70 to $75 per barrel, and have remained between this price value until January 2015 (Husain, Arezki, Breuer, Haksar, Helbling, Medas, Sommer, and an IMF Staff Team, 2015). (Figure 1) (See Apendix A for more information regarding oil price drop)

Oil is a huge part of everyone’s everyday life. From transportation to heating homes and businesses, oil prices are always dramatically changing due to the constant change of supply and demand. The economic impact that the price of oil has on the U.S economy continues to rise and fall due to political instability. Americans especially have a heavy reliance on oil, especially on foreign origins. The increasing price of oil has spiked large concerns and has become a major global debate. Many sources of oil are in economically and politically unstable regions and countries like former Soviet Union, the Middle East, and Africa. Not only is oil affected by this instability, prices are also determined by natural disasters and political issues. Due to an increase in demand, oil prices in 2011 increase instability due to more instability in oil producing countries like Saudi Arabia because of conflicts and uncertainty. The oil industry is one of the Commanding Heights of the global economy and therefore should not be regulated. It is a global commodity and is the most efficient method of allocation through the free market.

The world is depended on oil and soon oil will become more valuable than gold and could lead to a worldwide war. Price for oil could soar to above two hundred fifty dollars per barrel. Oil and other fuel cell also cause green house gases which contribute to global warming. China is consuming two times more petroleum than 1996 and India is projected to consume three times the oil it currently does by 2050. Global house gas emission has increased by twenty percent from 2003 to 2006. Energy consumption has increased exponentially throughout the globe. The U.S. department of energy projects energy consumption will increase seventy percent from 2003 to 2030. The world has agreed to reduce emission by twenty five percent before 2020 and by over

The purpose of this summary is to analyse the factors behind the view of the public and experts on “peak oil”. Peak oil occurs when the growth of crude oil production reaches a maximum and then drops slowly. The production curve was said to be "bell-shaped". These were indicated by Mr King Hubbert.

Peak oil is described as the point in time when the maximum rate of petroleum extraction is reached, and at this point we assist to a diminution of the resource. Oil is one of the world 's most vital resource, we use it in every aspect of our daily lives, we use it for electricity, gasoline and even drugs. The disappearance of this resource can lead to a major global disaster. In an attempt to identify the potential impact of such a disaster and find alternatives energetic resources, a cloud of researchers started to focus their research around this topic. While the first researches made on peak oil where mostly focused on its plausibility, nowadays researches concentrate on determining the exact period of occurrence, as well as the economic and political impact of this event.

Because private companies and nations have over-estimated oil reserves it is difficult to be exact but these estimates of world oil reserves are close and further research will reflect this. Also, rapid exploitation may have damaged many reserves' wells and will limit production. It may be that we (the world) have much less than is believed! The United States past its "peak oil" point back in the early 1970's ( for further research refer to Peak Oil Crisis Books) and now imports about two-thirds (2/3) of its oil. The U.S. economy and the current American way of life is supported by energy from other nations. Those nations that have not already past peak oil (maximum production) are very near it. In the future, production will decrease while at the same time demand increases. The spread between supply and demand will cause higher prices (for all products),