OPEC Organization of Oil Producing States
If you are concerned about the future direction of crude oil prices and what may lay ahead for producing and consuming nations OPEC should be a good source of information.
The OPEC mission statement from the official OPEC website is as follows:
“OPEC’s mission is to coordinate & unify the petroleum policies of Member Countries & ensure the stabilization of oil prices in order to secure an efficient, economic & regular supply of petroleum to consumers, a steady income to producers & a fair return on capital to those investing in the petroleum industry.”
A brief description of the history of OPEC makes for interesting reading. I especially noticed that the first meeting of OPEC was held in Baghdad, Iraq, in September, 1960.
The following is from the OPEC history website:
“The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is a permanent, intergovernmental Organization, created at the Baghdad Conference on September 10–14, 1960, by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. The five Founding Members were later joined by nine other Members: Qatar (1961); Indonesia (1962); Socialist Peoples Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (1962); United Arab Emirates (1967); Algeria (1969); Nigeria (1971); Ecuador (1973–1992); Gabon (1975–1994) and Angola (2007). OPEC had its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, in the first five years of its existence. This was moved to Vienna, Austria, on September 1, 1965.”
It is worth visiting the OPEC website to get their slant on the oil market. With the tension between the US and Venezuela increasing it is interesting to note that Venezuela is one of the original OPEC members.
In conducting your own research into the oil market you should keep in mind that all of the major participants are going to slant their interpretation of current conditions and forecasts to suit their own agendas. Thus OPEC will talk about “the stabilization of oil prices.”
BP, Exxon Chevron, and all of the other majors will try to assure the world that they still have ample reserves. The various governments of the oil consuming, oil production deficit, nations will tell their citizens not to worry, supplies will remain adequate.
Lies, Lies, and more damn lies are common in the oil centers of the world. But then what do you expect those who know the cold, hard, unpleasant, truth to say? If they tell the world public that they will have to adjust to a life without adequate oil and related energy products within four years or so who knows what the reaction will be?
Americans will be particularly upset if told they will have to get rid of all of their SUV’s. Or place them on blocks as a sort of private museum.
The story of the consequences of peak oil will be a complex one. If we are lucky enough to live for another three to four years we will likely be able to see for ourselves how the world adjusts to a permanent shortage of oil.
I seriously doubt that we will like what we see.
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