Papering over cracks

摘要

Public rows in Opec are rare. One may be brewing now, 11 weeks before the group’s next scheduled meeting. Nothing as spectacular as the shambolic meetings of June 2011 or late 1982 is on the cards. On those occasions, as now, it was the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) members of Opec - Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE and Qatar - against the rest. GCC members wanted to increase output in June 2011, but were thwarted by the rest, while in 1982 they aimed to engineer a price reduction to encourage demand. The GCC today is arguing solidly in favour of increased market share, achieved through lower oil prices.