No. 216: OPEC and Strategic Questions in the Oil Market

Author(s): Severin Fischer
Editor(s): Fabien Merz
Series Editor(s): Christian Nünlist, Matthias Bieri
Series: CSS Analyses in Security Policy
Issue: 216
Publisher(s): Center for Security Studies (CSS), ETH Zurich
Publication Year: 2017

In late November, OPEC and a Russia-led group of big oil producers agreed to maintain limits on oil supplies. So, what factors shaped this decision? The massive expansion of shale oil in the US, and its impact on petroleum markets, was surely one. However, this analysis contends that there are actually many factors increasing the pressure on OPEC and other oil producers. It also suggests that while it is always difficult to make serious predictions about the oil market’s future, two key development trends are emerging.

Download:

English (PDF)
German (PDF)
French (PDF)

Graphics:

Oil market 2012 - 2017

Members of the OPEC+ Deal and the six biggest producers