Free Republic

Oil prices crashed early Thursday OPEC did not reveal a solid agreement in Vienna, at least not yet. After hours of meetings, OPEC cancelled its news conference, awaiting the Russian delegation set to arrive on Friday. The oil price crash offers the group a reminder that the market is banking on a sizable cut. OPEC met on Thursday and Russia’s oil minister Alexander Novak arrives on Friday, where he can essentially tell Saudi Arabia what to do. The rest of OPEC, save for the UAE and Kuwait, are either unable or unwilling to go along with production cuts.

With the deal now done, we seem to be witnessing history in the making. But remember: history always repeats itself. When two agreements were signed in the early 2000s, both collapsed due to the inability of OPEC members to adhere to their commitments. Hence, the chance of the deal dying an early death is all too real. One of the factors that will bridle prices in the near future is the rate at which global stockpiles will deplete. My previous article explored the different factors that may spur U.S. Shale production. On the 10th of December, OPEC successfully convinced the...

Oil prices surged more than 8 percent on Wednesday as OPEC shocked the world and reached an agreement to cut production. If OPEC members succeed in implementing the deal, set to take effect in January, it could erase the global surplus in an instant. “The sentiment generally is optimistic and positive," Saudi Arabia’s Oil Minister Khalid al-Falih said before the final meeting on Wednesday. “Any production-restraint agreement has to be distributed in an equitable way. We are getting close.” Oil prices skyrocketed on his comments and on the news that a deal was within reach. Still, there was a lot...