After a year suffering the economic consequences of the oil price slump, OPEC is finally on the cusp of choking off growth in U.S. crude output.

The nation’s production is almost back down to the level pumped in November 2014, when the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries switched its strategy to focus on battering competitors and reclaiming market share. As the U.S. wilts, demand for OPEC’s crude will grow in 2015, ending two years of retreat, the International Energy Agency estimates.

While cratering prices and historic cutbacks in drilling have taken their toll on the U.S., OPEC members have also paid a heavy price. A year of plunging government revenues, growing budget deficits and slumping currencies has left several members grappling withsevere economic problems. The fact that the U.S. oil boom kept going for about six months after the group’s November decision also means OPEC has so far succeeded only in bringing the market back to where it started.

“It’s taken a hell of a long time and it will continue to take a long time -- U.S. oil production has been more resilient than people thought,” said Mike Wittner, head of oil markets research at Societe Generale SA in London. “The bottom line is the re-balancing has begun.”

OPEC abandoned its traditional role of paring production to prevent oversupply last November as a tide of new oil from the U.S. eroded its share of world markets. The group chose instead to keep pumping, allowing the subsequent price slump to squeeze competitors with higher costs. The group didn’t discuss capping output when its representatives met in Vienna Wednesday with non-member countries including Russia.

David Fuller's view

I think the headline above is unnecessarily alarmist, to the point of sounding more like an OPEC dream, rather than reality.  A glance at stock market performances of predominantly oil producing countries, relative to Wall Street, provides a dose of reality.

The key point is that all countries which are heavily dependent on oil production, including all OPEC members, are running significant deficits.  To date, their economic policy has been to produce more oil, which pushes the price of crude lower, rather than reduce expenditure sufficiently to their loss of revenue.

They are hoping for a miracle (or disaster for someone else), which slashes global oil production but preferably not their own.  OPEC is also hoping for a global economic recovery, not unrealistically but this prospect will not be hastened by the weakness its own economies.    

Meanwhile, the US is now in the advantageous position of being the swing producer.  It has the capability of producing more crude oil than Saudi Arabia, although it has no need to at today’s prices.  Consequently, it can reduce marginal production and import cheap oil to cover any shortfall.  When prices next move somewhat higher, as they eventually will, US shale oil producers will be able to respond quickly by opening the taps currently in place, when they judge that the price is right.      

(See also: Saudis Risk Draining Financial Assets in 5 Years, IMF Says)