Last week in Doha, many of the world’s major producers of crude oil tried, but failed to agree to freeze production, in order to stabilise and eventually increase prices. It was an outcome that will have long term implications for the Americas and in particular Venezuela.
The April 17 meeting involved 18 countries which together account for more than 50 per cent of global crude oil production, including most members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and many other major non-OPEC producer states. It took place largely at the urging of Venezuela, Russia and Saudi Arabia.
For Venezuela and Russia in particular, the freeze was strategic in its intent.
For them it was not just about limiting production to January 2016 levels and improving the political and economic resilience of producer nations by stabilising their much diminished income from oil and gas; but was also about enabling the possible emergence of new broader, more powerful global bloc of hydrocarbon producers.
Before, and in preparation for the meeting, Latin American oil producing nations, led by Ecuador and Venezuela, had established a new sub-hemispheric group built on a common regional position supported by Bolivia, Colombia and Mexico, countries which are not OPEC members.
