Opec meeting will celebrate oil price declines – at member countries' expense

A year ago Opec decided to maintain market share to battle competition from North America and the strategy worked, but not without some short-term pain

When the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) meets Friday in Vienna, the cartel will be celebrating a victory of sorts, one that has cost its members dearly.

A year ago Opec, whose members include Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Venezuela, was facing increasing competition from North America. Alarmed by the growing supply of oil from non-traditional producers using fracking to access oil in shale deposits like the Bakken field in North Dakota, Opec was determined to stop this competition. Instead of trying to support prices, it decided to maintain market share.