In The News

Member countries of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries produce about 40 percent of the world's crude oil, with exports representing about 60 percent of petroleum traded internationally. But when OPEC failed to reach agreement on controlling oil production levels at its April meeting, prices surprisingly crept up higher. For now, the global market has concluded that no producer...

Oil producing nations were long warned to diversify economies. The abrupt fall of oil prices from more than $110 to less than $30 per barrel in the space of a few years is influencing politics and foreign policy. Fareed Zakaria points out that Iran entered serious negotiations for an agreement on ending its nuclear program in summer of 2013. “Iranian officials were predicting that by 2015, Iran’s...

Among the many rebel groups determined to overthrow the Assad regime since Syria’s civil war began in 2011 is the Islamic State. The terrorist group quickly targeted oil fields in northern Syria and Iraq to fund its campaign. A US treasury official, speaking at a Chatham House forum in the United Kingdom, suggests that Islamic State extremists have made more than $500 million selling oil. The...