What Will Happen in the Next OPEC Meeting?

Source: www.econmatters.com --- Friday, May 20, 2016
By Rakesh Upadhyay The next OPEC meeting on the 2nd of June  will act as little more than a forum for continued altercations between saudiarabia and Iran.   The  2 June 2016  OPEC meeting will be held amid a backdrop of oil prices near $50 per barrel, a sharp drop in Nigerian production due to sabotage, turmoil in Venezuela, saudiarabia operating with a new oil minister, and Iran aggressively pumping close to pre-sanction levels.   OPEC interactions have become a direct altercation between saudiarabia and Iran, with the remaining members reduced to mere observers.   The new saudi oil minister, Khalid al-Falih, will be attending his first OPEC meeting, but experts doubt he will have the same clout and skills as the outgoing saudi oil minister, Ali bin Ibrahim Al-Naimi.   "OPEC's unity is now in the spotlight more than ever," said an OPEC official. "Would we ever see a minister that carries the same weight as Naimi? I don't think so, especially as it is clear now that decisions are in the hands of the deputy crown prince,"   reports The Wall Street Journal .   The Prince outlined his strategy in "Vision 2030", and a major step in that direction is the listing of the state-owned oil company   Aramco .   In order to gain additional traction for the proposed listing, the Saudis will continue their aggressive stance in OPEC, and keep all the oil producers on the hook, a glimpse of which was given by the new saudi Aramco Chief execut ...