Anybody who is anybody in the world of oil is gathering in Houston this week for the IHS CERAWeek Conference, an annual get-together of top industry analysts, executives and government ministers. The mood in Houston is notably different from a year ago, when oil prices languished in the $30s per barrel. Everyone can thank OPEC for the renewed sense of optimism. At the conference, OPEC said that it would continue to be the “only catalyst” for balancing the market, a comment meant to emphasize OPEC’s significance after several years of infighting. But it was also a welcome assurance for shale producers hoping that OPEC will intervene for the sake of market stability. OPEC also tried to assure the markets that compliance on the production cut deal has been high and will continue to rise. Russian officials added that in the coming weeks they will fully comply with the 300,000 […]