Opec down but not out
A new history of Opec says the organisation is being undermined in part by the ambitions of national oil companies
Never has Opec’s relevance—and future—been questioned more than today. This is hardly surprising. For leaving aside any discussion of price or output strategy, changes are afoot. Opec’s dominant member, Saudi Arabia, has embarked on a course aimed at ending the country’s reliance on oil. The United Arab Emirates is the region’s leading developer of renewables. And Qatar has dropped out of Opec. Media headlines suggest that Opec’s obituary is being prepared: “Opec is not dead yet, but it has lost control of the market,” said one in July 2019. “Opec losing control, share in global market,” said another in October. The perfect context, one might say, for a book entitled The Rise and Fall of Op
Also in this section
10 March 2026
Eni’s director for global gas and LNG portfolio, Cristian Signoretto, discusses how demand will respond to rising LNG supply, and how the company is expanding its own gas and LNG operations through disciplined, capital-efficient investments
9 March 2026
Petroleum Economist analysis sees increases in output from Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Kazakhstan among others before region’s murky descent
9 March 2026
Energy sanctions are becoming an increasingly prominent tool of US foreign policy, with the country’s growth in oil and gas production allowing it to impose pressure on rivals without jeopardising its own energy security or that of its allies, argues Matthew McManus, a visiting fellow at the National Center for Energy Analytics
6 March 2026
The March 2026 issue of Petroleum Economist is out now!
