ABSTRACT
The oil shocks brought considerable attention to bear on the world’s energy demands and supplies, and the role of Europe and Europe’s fuel markets emerged as critical. Several issues related to Europe’s role in world energy markets are important. The ‘independents’ from the USA, and the national oil companies of Europe undermined the ability of the cartel members to go on stabilizing world oil prices. In 1960, the oil companies accepted the emergence of the competitive pressures and lowered the posted prices on which they based payments to their host governments and their own c.i.f. crude oil prices in Europe. By 1970 world demand for crude oil had escalated strongly in the wake of the synchronized boom in Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries. Economics suggests several factors which make the cartelization of oil supplies a likely possibility at repeated intervals.
