Now the market rules

摘要

"The death of Opec has been predicted so many times that to do so again would be folly.The wry observation that the oil cartel is like a teabag-it only works when it is in hot water-is probably nearer the mark.However,with no real spare capacity and member Indonesia now an oil importer,Opec is,for the moment,without market power.In 1970 the Texas Railroad Commission(TRC)set production allowables at 100% for the first time and the era of controlling oil,prices by controlling Texan production drew to a close.[In 1970 Texas was what Saudi Arabia was in the '1990s-it had enough spare capacity to depress prices when released on to the market.The TRC set allowable production levels for all Texan fields each month,to manage prices at an 'acceptable' level.] In fact,from 1971 onwards,US lower 48:pro-duction moved into slow,steady,inexorable decline.