By cutting back to 30m barrels a day this past November, Opec was said to have launched a price war for global market share. But the US oil boom still presents a heretofore unknown foe: another player capable of ramping up production
The last time the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) met, it wanted to send a message to oil producers that weren’t cartel members: cut it out. The members of the world’s most powerful energy club are likely to allow themselves a congratulatory smile when they meet again on Friday. The message was received.
At Friday’s meeting in Vienna, Opec is widely expected to keep its production quota at 30m barrels a day, a level set when Opec last met in November. At the time, crude-oil analysts said the cartel was launching a price war for global market share with non-Opec members, namely US shale-oil producers. Opec’s move worked but the competition is still snapping at its heels.