OPEC Unlikely to Change Output Ceiling, Analyst Says

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will hold its next meeting June 5 at its headquarters in Vienna, in order to once again discuss its production ceiling.

The 12-member organization decided not to cut production at its meeting in November 2014, despite the major economic difficulties faced by many oil producing countries due to drop in oil prices. At the meeting, the bloc decided not to cut the oil output despite calls by some members such as Iran and Venezuela to reduce production to shore up prices.

In a recent interview with AFP, Saudi economist and analyst Abdulwahab Abu-Dahesh, said that “preserving market share still remains a top priority for (Persian) Gulf states."

Since the beginning of 2014, global oil prices have fallen dramatically, and many oil producing and raw material exporting nations have been hit with a fiscal crunch as a result.

According to some analysts, Saudi Arabia and the United States – who is not an OPEC member – are responsible for drop, with U.S. shale flooding the market while Saudi’s and their allies within OPEC hold steady on their current rate of crude production.

Earlier this year the international analyst Alfredo Jalife told teleSUR that Saudi Arabia and the U.S. are trying to control world oil production and also defeat their oil-rich rivals as part of a “cynical geopolitical game.”

Lower oil prices have caused difficulties for OPEC's individual commodity exporters whose economies are burdened by lack of oil revenue. On the other hand, Gulf producers such as the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, who have considerable foreign currency reserves, are able to run deficits for several years if necessary and are reported to continue supporting the Saudi position.