OPEC ministers are set to mark the one-year anniversary of their historic production pact with their non-OPEC counterparts on November 30 with oil prices up by a sharp $10 per barrel (/bbl) on average so far this year and oil revenue higher by a significant 25 percent, far outpacing the relatively modest supply cuts by producer countries. The producer alliance is widely expected to extend the agreement beyond March 2018, by a further six or nine months, in an effort to reduce still high global inventories. OPEC’s production strategy is aimed at rebalancing oversupplied markets, with its goal to reduce oil stocks to within the five-year average range of OECD inventories but, so far, is just over halfway to its target level. Read more
مرة أخرى أظهرت مجموعة من التطورات الإقليمية في الأسابيع الأخيرة أن القوى المناوئة للهيمنة الإيرانية في شرق المتوسط والعراق واليمن لا تملك تصورا واضحا أو عمليا لصد وردع التقدم السياسي والعسكري الذي حققته إيران مباشرة أو عبر وكلائها في المنطقة. اطلع على المزيد
AGSIW co-sponsored the Autumn 2017 Gulf Affairs journal special issue on "Foreign Policy Trends in the GCC States." The issue was edited by Senior Resident Scholar Karen E. Young and includes an overview by Young.
After whirlwind developments, including high-profile arrests of Saudi royals linked to corruption, suspension of the ban on women driving, and a glitzy international conference designed to lure foreign investment in new megaprojects in the kingdom, HRH Turki Al Faisal Al Saud provided his perspective on domestic and regional challenges, including growing tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran. Read more
In the Media
On CGTN’s “The Heat” Senior Resident Scholar Hussein Ibish discussed Saudi Arabia's arrests of royals, ministers, and businessmen accused of corruption. Ibish said, "In a way the upper echelon underneath the king and the crown prince are being swept away." He continued that while the message is an anti-corruption message, it is also political and cultural, "that the old way of doing business" is over.
Outreach
During the 2017 Annual Meeting of the Middle East Studies Association, Senior Resident Scholar Kristin Smith Diwan discussed transnational clerical associations in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates at the panel "Loyalists in the Gulf: Reliable Partners or Independent Actors."
OPEC Aims to Extend Production Cuts at Upcoming Ministerial Meeting
A Conversation with HRH Turki Al Faisal Al Saud
