"The Death of OPEC? The Displacement of Saudi Arabia as the World's Swi" by Christopher Hanewald

Article Title

The Death of OPEC? The Displacement of Saudi Arabia as the World's Swing Producer and the Futility of an Output Freeze

Authors

Christopher Hanewald, Indiana University Maurer School of LawFollow

Document Type

Note

Publication Date

2-15-2017

Publication Citation

24 Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies 277 (2017)

Abstract

On November 27, 2014, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries met in Vienna and adopted a bold stance against increasing supply from beyond the reach of the cartel. Rather than reduce their own production, the cartel decided to allow market forces to dictate the price of a barrel of oil. By doing this, Saudi Arabia-the de-facto leader of the cartel-made a bet that the burgeoning shale gas industry within the United States would be unable to cope with a sharp fall in the price of oil. Over the course of the following two years, the U.S. energy sector-aided by further technological development-surprised Saudi Arabia with its resiliency to withstand a low oil price environment. This note explores how this tactic by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries was thwarted, why the oil industry is devoid of any global oversight, and what this means for the future of the Oil Industry.

Recommended Citation

Hanewald, Christopher (2017) "The Death of OPEC? The Displacement of Saudi Arabia as the World's Swing Producer and the Futility of an Output Freeze," Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies: Vol. 24: Iss. 1, Article 12.
Available at: https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/ijgls/vol24/iss1/12

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Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies