Oil prices have recently remained at over a hundred dollars a barrel, despite the economic slowdown in Europe and the United States. This downturn, contrary to what is being repeated by some decision-making circles in the US and Europe, was not due to the price of oil, which is acceptable at present to consumers and producers. Instead, it is due to the economic mismanagement in Europe and the west in general, led by countries such as Greece and Italy, and their sovereign debt. The price of oil remaining at its current level, between $100 and $110 a barrel, reflects a situation of some tension in oil markets because of the absence of Libyan oil during the first quarter of the year. However, Libyan oil is now flowing faster than expected, rising to more than half a million barrels a day. Some oil industry sources expect Libya to retain its production level of around one million barrels a day in April or May of next year. OPEC currently produces 30 million barrels a day with Saudi Arabia, which in October produced 9.7 million barrels a day. The logic of responsible countries such as Saudi Arabia, OPEC's biggest producer, is to keep oil prices from rising to where they negatively affect the global economy and growth, because this will rebound on the demand for oil. Thus, Saudi Arabia and the OPEC producers that have surplus production capacity will be determined to monitor the market. There are two upcoming occasions for consultation and assessing conditions. One will take place on the sidelines of the International Oil Conference, which will be hosted by Qatar on 4 December, and which will gather all of the world's oil ministers, both inside and outside OPEC. The second is the discussion of market conditions during the ministerial meeting of OPEC in Vienna on 14 December. Saudi Arabia and Gulf countries will not permit a big price rise. If the price of oil rises to levels that have a negative impact on the world economy, OPEC will try to prevent this. However, it is still too early to make a clear assessment of conditions in the market, and supply and demand, and whether there is real need to boost OPEC's production, currently at 30 million barrels a day. However, OPEC members differ over managing their oil revenues. For example, Saudi Arabia has set down a comprehensive plan for investment in the country, in all sectors, worth $400 billion over 2010-2015, in industry, infrastructure, transport, schools and education, and housing. Gulf oil countries, from Qatar to the UAE and Kuwait, have benefited from their oil and gas resources to build their countries and play a role on the world stage, like Qatar. Meanwhile, an oil country such as Iran, which produces around 3.5 million barrels a day, faces difficulty in expanding its production capacity because of international sanctions. It sets aside revenues to fund its ally the Syrian regime and support its crackdown and develops nuclear weapons to frighten everyone in the region, instead of distributing oil revenues to the Iranian people, which needs them urgently. It is not the only OPEC state that squanders its money; there are also Venezuela and Nigeria, which suffer from poverty, violence and an unprecedented lack of security. Libya suffered for decades under the rule of Muammar Gaddafi, who used his resources like the Iranian regime did, for violence and intimidation. There is now hope that the Libyans will get their house in order quickly, end the chaos that has prevailed since the revolution, and see their country recover, based on democracy and accountability. There is hope that the OPEC conference, this time, will be less tense and more successful than its previous meeting, when the organization experienced serious tension among its members, of a kind not seen for decades.
