ABSTRACT
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) conferences—both regular and extraordinary—were practically paralyzed because members could not agree on either price or production levels. The oil-consuming world has accepted the price reduction as a most welcome development, one that will reestablish a sane balance in international economic and financial orders that were seriously and dangerously disrupted by the reckless OPEC oil price hikes. The United Arab Emirates minister of oil, Mana Said al-Otaiba, appeared on Abu Dhabi television on October 31, 1985, and declared: "Since the last OPEC meeting every producing country, whether OPEC or non-OPEC, has had complete freedom in setting whatever price it sees fit for its oil. The United States, although a major oil producer, had readily accepted the prospects with a sigh of relief. The big issue was the production level; the real villains, according to OPEC spokesmen, were the non-OPEC producers.
