OPEC Under The Eyes of Many by Yasmine B (5th pd)

     In recent weeks, oil prices have tumbled down dramatically, selling for under $80 a barrel, which means Americans can purchase gas for under three dollars a gallon! But will it last for long? People in the world of energy and oil have no idea how OPEC will react to the over supply of oil in the world market and the low price for oil. They are awaiting excitedly or anxiously to see what OPEC will say about the matter when they meet this Thursday, Thanksgiving day, in Vienna, Austria.

     Many people have hunches and hypotheses on what OPEC will do about the matter, but in the end, it will probably all come back to Saudi Arabia, one of the biggest players in the oil game. As it looks right now, Saudi Arabia does not want to scale back any production whatsoever because it doesn't want its enemy, Iran, to benefit anything from the oil. Iran is already doing not so great economically because of sanctions put on its nuclear program and if anything was changed to the oil prices or production right now, then that would mean a possible light at the end of the tunnel for Iran.

     I find it a bit amusing how Saudi Arabia is opposed to any changes because of the possible benefits for Iran. This reminds me of little first graders ganging up against each other in the playground during recess time over some childish issue. As shown in this article and in the past, it seems that there is always one nation that has it out for another. We can even trace this back to colonial times here in the United States. The only reason that the French helped the colonists during the American Revolutionary War was because they were still bitter from their defeat in the French and Indian War. It comes to show that even though it's not everything, relations with other nations really dictates decisions one country makes.

Link for article:

http://money.cnn.com/2014/11/23/investing/stocks-energy-oil-opec-lookahead/index.html?iid=HP_LN