OPEC Seeks Oil Cuts
With oil prices in the doldrums and a 2 million-barrel glut in the supply, producers are forced to suppress their instinct to make up the revenue shortfall by pumping a few extra barrels -- production cuts are the only way to restore the good times.
The dilemma facing the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) as it meets today in Vienna is not whether to cut production, but how to ensure that the 11 member states and such non-member producers as Norway, Russia and Mexico stick to their agreed cutbacks totaling 1.5 million barrels. Analysts are skeptical over whether Russia, Venezuela, Nigeria and others will avoid the temptation to exceed their new production quotas, which would quickly unravel the agreement -- and even the oil cartel itself. After all, it’s not as if renegades face the prospect of having their legs broken or anything.
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