The comeback
Opec's deal is a seismic moment for the oil market. But forces beyond the group's control will decide how effective the cuts are
Kill the theories of Opec's demise. In one swoop on 30 November, the group has ended years of inaction, solved a raft of thorny internal problems and put itself back in the market's driving seat. Two years ago, on the eve of the fateful November 2014 meeting that would see Opec refuse to shore up a plunging market, a Saudi official said the kingdom was taking its "hands off the tiller". Now it wants the wheel back. The market has a new floor above $50 a barrel, and Opec will defend it. Call it the Falih Put. The deal on 30 November, coming just two months after the Algiers Opec meeting that promised action and eight years after the group last cut output, means the market now has a prop. Opec
Also in this section
4 December 2025
Time is running out for Lukoil and Rosneft to divest international assets that will be mostly rendered useless to them when the US sanctions deadline arrives in mid-December
3 December 2025
Aramco’s pursuit of $30b in US gas partnerships marks a strategic pivot. The US gains capital and certainty; Saudi Arabia gains access, flexibility and a new export future
2 December 2025
The interplay between OPEC+, China and the US will define oil markets throughout 2026
1 December 2025
The North African producer’s first bidding round in almost two decades is an important milestone but the recent extension suggests a degree of trepidation
