Why oil becomes cheaper
Why oil becomes cheaper
A significant segment of the modern Russian economy is the extraction, processing and sale of oil and oil products. Therefore well-being of many citizens directly depends on the prices for oil on the world market. These prices are constantly changing. What reasons exist, for example, to reduce them?
In order to understand the reason for the price changes oil, You need to understand the policy itselfpricing in this area. In the world there are several dozens of countries - the largest oil exporters. Twelve of them are part of OPEC - an organization of oil-exporting countries. Among them, the largest producer of hydrocarbons in the world - Saudi Arabia, as well as Venezuela, Iraq, Iran, Qatar, Nigeria, the United Arab Emirates and other countries. This organization was established on the basis of the cartel principle, and its purpose is to protect the interests of exporting states. Protection is expressed, among other things, in setting quotas for oil production. That makes it possible to keep prices at a level acceptable to states and not to allow overproduction. From the previous explanation, one can deduce the first reason for the decline in prices-raising quotas for oil production by the OPEC countries. This decision can be caused both by market needs and by the political goals of the cartel member states. But the pricing in the sale of hydrocarbons is complicated by the fact that not all exporting countries are part of OPEC. For example, Russia, as well as a number of countries in Africa and Latin America, form a pricing policy for this market segment independently. And a sharp increase in oil production from their side can also reduce world prices. Another reason for the decline in prices for oil internal political instability inExporting countries. For example, the destabilization of the political situation, war or revolution in a large extracting state is likely to lead to higher prices for hydrocarbons, and the solution to this problem is to stabilize and reduce them. An important factor affecting pricing in the fuel market is the state of the global economy. An example of the effect of such a factor could be observed in 2008. Due to the growth of the world economy, as well as the war in the territory of a large exporter - Iraq, prices rose to record values of $ 140 per barrel. But after the transition of the mortgage crisis in the United States to the world level, the economic recession began, which resulted in a reduction in oil consumption due to production capacity. There was a classic crisis of overproduction, and prices for oil Thus, it can be concluded that the decline in prices for oil Cause economic or political reasons, and most often - their combination.