Nationalism is added to the oil mix

Tension in the Middle East and demand from the roaring economies of India and China have already caused the price of oil to surge this decade. Now, the oil market has a new force to reckon with: nationalism.

Oil-producing countries are seizing domestic resources that were once shared with international oil companies, bolstering national corporate giants and even starting to buy energy assets abroad. Taken together, this wave of so-called energy nationalism is likely to continue to keep oil prices high next year, and beyond, analysts say.
The politics of OPEC are also in flux, partly because of energy nationalism. Meanwhile, Sudan, Angola and Brazil are reported to be considering applying for membership in the cartel.

What everything suggests, according to Birol, the economist, is that the days of oil at $50 a barrel appear to be over.

International Herald Tribune