ABSTRACT
Oil is gradually losing its status in world markets. The theoretical and empirical behavior of commodity markets has been the subject of countless economic treatises. The theoretical and empirical behavior of commodity markets has been the subject of countless economic treatises. The nationalization of the producing interests belonging to the multinational companies, together with changes in the process by which crude prices were set, caused multinational oil companies to reduce their activity as distributors of crude oil and created the opportunity for entry by other firms such as Japanese trading companies. Changes in both the pattern by which oil is moved from the well to the market and the economic incentives affecting oil production have represented a major force in the evolution of oil as a commodity. The demise of joint producing agreements has undoubtedly increased the competitive pressure between exporting countries.
