OPEC Emergency Meeting Sought As Oil Prices Plummet

Almost half the members of the Opec oil cartel are considering an emergency meeting in Vienna next month as oil prices dropped to their lowest level in nearly a year.

Almost half the members of cartel have in the past few days called on the group to act to halt the slide before their next official meeting scheduled to take place in Algeria in late December.

Iran, Libya, Nigeria, Iraq, Venezuela and Ecuador, whose economies tend to be most dependent on high oil prices and whose ministers are among the most hawkish of the 13-member group, have all lobbied for the cartel to drop output.

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Comments

[inohio]

As one person, here in the masses of billions on this planet...it is nice to see low gas prices amid all the global turmoil. It puts a little lift in your step amid all the doom and gloom, when going to the pump is no longer a fortune. Thanks for putting off the emergency meeting until Nov.

[Norge]

Low oil prices are very helpfull for poor countries though hinders the development of alternative energy sources. Though additional energy sources should not be added to earth, either with oil or other types. For the health of the earth, energy sources should be reduced.

A fine new documentary is titled *The 11th Hour* and should be viewed by those interested in what is happening when humans add old energy (oil) to earth.

[ajax2]

OPEC has no choice, but to no longer accept Bush dollars.

[lvdragonlady]

ha ha ha OPEC
See what happens when you get greedy, the wheels fall off and the bottom falls out...............

[KillTheMessenger]

Actually, Opec had very little to do with the rise of prices. At best, if you look at their supply curve, they were ramping it up as best as they could as soon as prices began to rise after 2002.

http://www.theoildrum.com/uploads/44/iea_non_opec.gif

The simple fact of the matter is that they didn't manage to ramp it up as fast as GM managed to build SUVs.

The wheels for Opec have not fallen of the bus. Most of their oil fields are far from margin at $80. The same can not be said about oil sand and oil shale, though, or any new drilling in the US. So the wheels are really falling off much closer to home.

:-)

[KCFreedom]

I agree. Most of our oil price problems originate domestically, rather from them. They've been pumping out more every year.

As long as we have inflation and reduced refining capacity, and as you stated, all the SUVs on the road, we'll continue to have an artificial price fix situation.

We need to stop blaming others and look at our own stool we're spinning around in.

[walk0nwalls]

We stuck it to them now!...with...the collapse of our economy...

[hollyo]

I live in the rural mid-west. People cut out all unecessary driving. The roads
were empty. Prices went further and further down the less gas we bought...

[LibRS]

when oil first started going up, opec said well, if it wtays at $30/barrel, wel'll be happy. price went to $40/barrel. Opec says, well if it stays at $40 we'll be happy. Again, they manipulate through production until it goes to $50 and opec says, well if it stays at $50 we'll be happy.

see a pattern here?

yes, most definitely need altenative fuels. all of them. but in the mean time, we must drill like hell everywhere there is enough oil to justify drilling the hole. everywhere means everywhere.

[KillTheMessenger]

Opec was never happy with $25/barrel. That was always marginal. So what changed? They have discovered that you will pay $150 if you have to.

:-)

[TheJibreelaMonsters]

dont worry OPEC, Obama will win and we wont drill. Willie Ayers will be proud!

[cosmic]

TheJibreelaMonsters - quit using your A** to speak with

[cherrycreekdoc]

king of all tro//s

[philosopherkingtomas]

Set oil prices at $80 for a two-year period, stability for alternatives and also for producers!

[rkimball]

iran & venezuela will be trading in euros begining in january. russia may follow soon after. this will weaken the dollar further & flood world markets with cheap dollars putting more pressure on opec to raise prices or trade in euros.

it's a catch 22 senario. spiraling global inflation will be completely out of control.

[dadw5boys]

They meeting to drive the cost of a $55.00 barrel of oil to a $100.00 barrel of oil.

[RebelPatriot]

Oil prices $/bbl dropping, but it sure isn't matched by similar declines at the pumps.

should be in the $2's ranges now, but still in the $3's

[ILibertine]

Lately it has been the refining capacity schtick being trotted out to keep prices inflated. Next it will be "the dog drank our reserves".

[drkazmd65]

Hmm,... methinks our good 'friends' the Saudis might be worried the the 'money train' they have from us just might be drying up a bit,...

Without all our (and the EUs) petrodollars/petroeuros,... how will they continue to bribe the radical clerics into behaving,... and how long will their 'loyal subjects' stay loyal?

Just a thought,...

[TXfemmom]

If Saudi Arabia and the non-Iran and Venezuela partners wanted to get Iran, this is the time to do it. They could, possibly, lock Iran around of the market. Promise to keep their oil in production enough to keep the price at $80 a barrel, and they could produce enough where Iran's oil may not even be needed. Iran would fall flat on its' face in about four months, as they lack foreign exchange and have to have continuous income to even bring in food and their refined petroleum products.

Venezuela isn't going to help Iran too much, because Chavez has to have his income or they will turn on him in a flash.

[rkimball]

wrong. iran & venezuela just finalized a trage & economic agreement.

if anything,they both will team up to drive oil prices further. venezuela is asking iran to honor an oil embargo agreement chavez worked out with ahmadinejad last march againt the usa starting soon. this could drive oil prices to $300 a barrel overnight.

chavez has already started by nationalizing all american held assets in venezuela.

[vietveter]

Does anyone remember WHY Japan

opened hostilities on the US? - WW - II

[mommadona]

These guys gotta get out more often.

Or not.....

[bmermaid]

The drop in oil prices is DIRECTLY tied to the election, the fact that the Rethugs NEED the price at the pump to be lower before the election, and the fact that Prince Bandar of Saudi Arabia is like a brother to GW & like a son to George the First.

I predicted months ago that prices would fall before the election due to these facts, just as they did just before the election 2 years ago. The prices rebounded before December, and they will this time too.

And all of this despite the hurricanes in the gulf, which would have resulted in even higher prices than we had last summer, if it weren't for the price fixing by Cheney, Bandar & the Bushes.

[zephyrus]

Oh, but c'mon. That would take collusion. It would take conspiracy.

[Rule Of Law]

No, no the peak oil guys say its all about dying oil fields and supply and demand. You mean to tell me that politics might play a role here? I'm shocked etc etc...

[ObamaSheeple]

Listen, while I do not always believe in conspiracies, I believe that at times they do exist. This is not one of them. Warren Buffett is a prime example. He sold his shares in Petrochina a year ago, a stock I owned in 2000 because he said oil demand was going up. I checked into it and agreed. Now demand is going down because a blind man could see this housing crash back in Dec. when the banks started lying about how much they were losing. It was far more. Most knew a housing recession would trigger this domino effect worldwide, especially because of derivatives. The old adage when the U.S. sneezes, the world catches a cold applies.

Don't fret though. We are nearing peak oil in about 2010. When the next upturn happens, if it happens, oil will continue upwards because there is much less of it than there used to be worldwide. Not everything is a conspiracy, but like you, I wouldn't put it past those suckers.

[MajorKong]

Could just be coincidence but the price of oil does seem to ALWAYS drop before a Presidential election.