Opec's 2019 dilemma
The cartel faces unprecedented challenges, amid sceptism that output cuts will avert a global supply glut
Bearish voices are loudest these days. Several big houses have downgraded their 2019 price forecasts: Goldman Sachs has gone from $70/bl to $62.50/bl, citing a surge in production, particularly from US shale. Opec may be less influential than it used to be, but still accounts for more than 40pc of global oil supplies against 53pc in the 1970s. Clearly, it has more clout when acting as Opec+, the wider cartel that includes Russia and Kazakhstan—which struck a supply cuts accord in Vienna in December. Despite Opec's heft, with mega-producer Saudi Arabia at the helm, undercurrents in the global energy marketplace are viewed as unsettling. Garbis Iradian, chief economist for the Mena region at W
Also in this section
16 April 2026
Demand for oil is falling because supply cannot meet it, not because it is no longer required
16 April 2026
The continent has an immediate opportunity to make the most of its energy resources by capturing gas that is currently slipping away
15 April 2026
The continent is seeing political pushback to climate plans, corporate reassessment of transition goals and rising supply risk in a fractured global order
15 April 2026
The Middle East energy crisis may turn out to be pivotal to the industry’s long-term expansion, but significant challenges still stand in its way
