Liam Denning, Columnist

OPEC+ Isn’t a Cartel, But It Isn’t a Regulator Either

The Saudi energy minister must be kidding when he suggests the group helps keep oil prices stable.

November 4, 2021 at 7:18 PM UTC

Liam Denning is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering energy. A former banker, he edited the Wall Street Journal’s Heard on the Street column and wrote the Financial Times’s Lex column.

Not in the business of managing stability.
Photographer: FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP

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Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s energy minister, is right: OPEC+ is not a cartel. But it sure isn’t a regulator either.

His comment during Thursday’s press briefing after the organization’s latest meeting was undoubtedly aimed at U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, who earlier this week blamed the “cartel” for rising gasoline prices. Granholm, with an eye on her boss’s approval ratings, surely chose her word pointedly.