OPEC is not our friend.
And they might just prove that fact later this week, when the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries convenes for its regularly scheduled meeting on Thursday in Vienna.
While most Americans will be sitting down to a Thanksgiving feast, OPEC might be serving us a side dish of lower oil prices, a move that could cause surging US shale production to dry up like the day-old bread in Mama’s stuffing.
The cartel’s member countries produce about 40% of the world’s crude oil, and their exports represent about 60% of the total petroleum traded internationally. To quote the Energy Information Administration (EIA)’s immense understatement, “because of this market share, OPEC’s actions can, and do, influence international oil prices.”
