Qatar's Energy Minister Mohammad bin Saleh al-Sada attends a news conference following a meeting between OPEC and non-OPEC oil producers in Doha in 2016
From the Archives: Time for action from OPEC
In our final look back into the Petroleum Economist archives, we turn the clock back to September 2016
Saudi Arabia’s oil minister says Opec will take “any possible action” to stabilise the market. The group should cut, now The plan to recover market share, force rival producers out of business and wait for prices to bounce back has failed and is creating the conditions for a damaging price spike later this decade. Another boom, forced by the supply gaps that will emerge from the colossal withdrawal of upstream spending, might sound tempting for producers struggling with sub-$50-a-barrel Brent. But it would be a disaster for the industry, giving the decisive push for alternative energy sources and signalling oil’s eventual obsolescence. To avoid this, Opec and any other producer it can cajole
Also in this section
14 May 2025
The invisible hand of the market has seen increasing transparency but much more needs to be done to build a better understanding
13 May 2025
A fall in Venezuelan output drives overall production lower, as Saudi Arabia starts to slowly bring more crude to the market
12 May 2025
With the gas industry’s staunchest advocates and opponents taking brutal blows, the sector looks like treading a path of insipid indifference
