OPEC could claim only two achievements in its early years. It ensured that the oil companies would be cautious about taking any major step unilaterally, without consultation. And they would not dare cut the posted price again. Beyond that, there were many reasons why OPEC had so little to show for its first decade. In all the member countries, with the exception of Iran, the oil reserves in the ground actually belonged by contract to the concessionaires, the companies, thus limiting the countries’ control. Furthermore, the world oil market was overwhelmed with surplus, and the exporting
...more
