“Price is always in the background as part of the discussion,” said Finley. The OPEC+ members will decide whether to continue voluntarily cutting production by about 2 million barrels per day. “They have influence but not control over the price."
With a record number of hurricanes expected this season, the oil and gas industry is particularly at risk. “The Gulf Coast by itself has about half of America’s total refining capacity,” said Finley. "Gulf Coast refineries are also the reason why the United States is the largest exporter of refined products like gasoline and diesel fuel on the planet."
OPEC hasn’t been able to exert more control over oil prices partly because of competition from the U.S., said fellow Mark Finley. “The United States, on the back of the shale revolution, has become the biggest producer of oil in the world.”
Iran’s growing oil output poses a challenge for OPEC, which has returned to cutting production in response. In an article for Barron’s, energy fellow Mark Finley writes that while the group might be overreacting to supply threats, its caution is appropriate.
“We’re likely to run out of oil demand before we run out of oil supply,” Center for Energy Studies fellow Mark Finley told AP. “Yes oil is abundant; but abundant reserves don’t automatically translate into cheap prices.”