History Suggests OPEC's Days Could Be Numbered

As OPEC 's refusal to curb oil production contributes to a nine-month plunge in prices, a new paper suggests the group's days may be numbered.

OPEC, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, has vowed to defend its market share against higher-cost producers such as U.S. shale drillers and companies developing Canada's oil sands. Its strategy hinges on the odds that an extended period of low prices will lead other producers to scale back output, enabling the group to reassert its influence. OPEC supplies about 40 percent of the world's crude.