Crude Sets Record

OPEC’s decision to pump extra oil is almost as useless as its promises to raise output further. Most of the extra oil OPEC has been pumping to supposedly keep a lid on prices is heavy, sour crude — which only further highlights the shortcomings of U.S. refining capacity.

There is also only one OPEC producer with sufficient spare capacity to affect prices significantly–Saudi Arabia, which accounts for one-third of the cartel’s output and is pumping one-ninth of the world’s oil each day by itself. But even the Saudis face a costly and slow expansion of their output capacity in the coming years to exploit the reserves they’re sitting on, which are the world’s largest.
Forbes