OPEC Influence Wavers as U.S. Shale Roars Back

In April this year, OPEC surprised oil markets by announcing additional production cuts in a bid to stimulate prices to go higher. Prices did go higher. There was nothing to stop them. U.S. drillers were busy returning cash to shareholders, supply growth was sluggish everywhere, and demand looked robust. Fast forward to December, and the 1-million-bpd growth in U.S. oil production is the talk of the town, OPEC is running out of options, and the oil market is more unpredictable than ever. It appears that along with the latest Middle Eastern war,…