WorldOil

The Third OPEC Summit: A report from the field

The first and second Summits were held in 1975 and 2000. So with this Third Summit, it was natural to ask the question, “Why now?” As distinguished from a regular meeting, the infrequent Summits are held because of some overriding need or event. Ostensibly, this Third Summit was called for the three official themes, which were: providing petroleum, promoting prosperity, and protecting the planet. However, near-$100 oil prices occupied much of the discussion. The two-day Summit, held in Riyadh, was preceded by a two-day Ministerial Symposium, which was much more about nuts and bolts, and practical, than the Summit, which was political and came with a promise not to make any of the usual supply decisions. The Summit. Saudi Oil Minister Ali Al-Naimi said, “The prices today have really no relation to the fundamentals.” He said that Saudi Arabia had an output capacity of 11.3 million barrels a day...