For the first time in the past 20 years, members within the OPEP had their first serious clash. The argument is two sided: First, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE, support increasing oil production to push the price down and promote a global economic recovery.
On the other side, Iran, Libya and Venezuela, among others, completely oppose this decision. These nations prioritize maintaining their own economic and budgetary decision making over higher investments related to an increase in production.
The Saudis are up for a fight, as past decisions have been ripe with profits. Since 2008, OPEP exceeded their own self-imposed goal of 1.9 million barrels a day, generating extremely high profits.
Such action, if employeed today, may also be fruitful in paving the way for an economic recovery, but there are those who are skeptical, as geopolitical risk remains.
