But they don't want to send the wrong signal to the market. They want to continue a loose supply policy, meaning that if there's a crude problem, which there isn't now, they can supply it. |
High prices have given all producing countries a lot more leverage. |
If demand continues to be strong we are going to be struggling. |
If demand continues to be strong we are going to be struggling. OPEC appears to be taking the view that the risks are weighted more to the upside than the downside. |
If you gave oil companies a choice between the tar sands in Canada or oil in Saudi Arabia, which do you think they'd choose? |
If you're an international oil company and see this trend, it must be worrying. |
OPEC wants the maximum price they can sustain to meet their budgetary needs and investment plans, and keep their economies growing, while making sure that demand in the rest of the world keeps growing. The Saudis have hinted they believe that price was now between $50 and $60 a barrel. |
OPEC wants to be perceived as part of the solution, not part of the problem, |
OPEC wants to be perceived as part of the solution, not part of the problem. |
They've been wrong the last two years about what the second quarter fundamentals are going to look like. Fundamentally speaking, it's probably not a good ideal to pre-empt the market. |