Concerns over the coronavirus outbreak in China, the world’s largest oil importing country, pushed down oil prices, while the market failed to react to a near collapse in Libyan oil production, the continued absence of Iranian barrels, and other disruptions.
OPEC will need to adapt to new realities in an era of disruption and rapid transformation.
The energy world is entering an era of disruption, where traditional methods of extracting, using, and trading energy are changing rapidly and where old rules no longer apply.
OPEC appears to be stuck in a vicious cycle of cutting production only to see its share of the market filled by the United States and other, higher-cost producers that are not bound by the production restraints of the OPEC+ agreement.
With Saudi Arabia's now-confirmed oil reserves, and an expected growth in global demand, the kingdom is likely to continue to play a central role in the energy arena.
On October 18, 2018, the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington convened its fourth annual Petro Diplomacy conference, “Back to the Future – Oil and Gas at the Center of New Growth in the GCC States.”
OPEC may need to maintain crude oil supplies at current lower levels for longer than planned, as surging U.S. shale oil dominates global oil markets for the next several years, according to a new report from the IEA.
OPEC’s expectations for a significant decline in global oil stocks for the rest of 2017 and into 2018 have been upended by new forecasts showing sharply lower demand for the producer group’s crude for the second half of 2017 and the first quarter of 2018.
OPEC and its non-OPEC oil producing counterparts cemented a new era of cooperation at their May 25 meeting in Vienna, reaching a unanimous decision to extend their production agreement aimed at reducing global oil stock levels through March 2018.
OPEC delivered on its pledge to rein in crude oil production in January, signaling a promising start to what will certainly be a challenging six months as the group works to accelerate the rebalancing of global stocks and prop up prices.
Learn MoreThrough its careful examination of the forces shaping the evolution of Gulf societies and the new generation of emerging leaders, AGSIW facilitates a richer understanding of the role the countries in this key geostrategic region can be expected to play in the 21st century.
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