July 11, 2008 was an unforgettable day for the oil industry. The price of West Texas Intermediate — a grade of crude oil used as a benchmark in oil pricing — hit an all-time high of $147 per barrel in New York. So, 10 years later, what has changed? There have been a few major developments in the oil industry, but as far as the way OPEC works, little has altered. First, OPEC is still producing the same amount of crude. In July 2008, OPEC’s crude oil production was 32.6 million barrels per day (bpd), compared with 32.3 million bpd in June 2018, taking into account the end of voluntary restraints on oil output by some OPEC countries and that the size of OPEC is now larger than in 2008. Second, the US is still blaming OPEC for the increase in oil prices. In 2008, when speculative activities in […]