In dueling speeches at the Davos World Economic Forum in Switzerland, oil company heads and OPEC representatives clashed about the collapse in the price of oil, according to a report in Reuters.
Oil company chiefs at from Italy’s Eni Spa and France’s Total said that OPEC’s unwillingness to cut output “could lead to a huge supply shortage as investments dry up.”
But speakers from OPEC shrugged off these suggestions, according to Reuters. OPEC’s Secretary General Abdullah al-Badri said, “Everyone tells us to cut. But I want to ask you, do we produce at higher cost or lower costs? Let’s produce the lower cost oil first and then produce the higher cost.” Al-Badri was referring to higher cost production methods outside of OPEC countries, including the United States.
“If we had cut in November we would have to cut again and again as non-OPEC would be increasing production,” adding, “Prices will rebound. I saw this 3-4 times in my life.”
[Read the full article from Reuters here]
