After two years of fruitless talks, how did Opec finally agree on cutting oil output?
Interventions by political high-ups are credited for Opec’s agreement on cutting oil output, but a change in market conditions played a major role, writes John Kemp
London — It took Opec member nations two years of negotiations to finally agree to cut production. So what changed to make agreement possible? The intense diplomatic manoeuvring behind the deal has been capably chronicled by my colleagues at Reuters (How Putin, Khamenei and Saudi prince got Opec deal done), Bloomberg (Opec deal hinged on 2am phone call and it nearly failed) and the Financial Times (Saudi prince’s ambition for life beyond oil forces Opec deal). The common theme in these accounts is the personal intervention of top political leaders, which overcame the obstacles that had stalled negotiations at technical level (Opec talks struggle with question of market share, Reuters, November 24). But the context was a change in oil market conditions that made it more attractive for Saudi Arabia and other members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to reach a deal. For the first time since 2014, the kingdom could afford to cut output without too much risk of ot...
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