Is Russian President Putin The 'King Of Opec'?

Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech at the Russian Energy Week 2017 forum in Moscow, Russia October 4, 2017. Sputnik/Kremlin via REUTERS

Bloomberg: Putin Crowns Himself OPEC King

For more than half a century, Saudi Arabia’s oil minister could move markets with a few choice words about what OPEC may decide at its next meeting, generating millions if not billions of dollars of profit for insiders.

Not anymore. While OPEC’s gatherings still influence prices, it’s not Saudi Arabia’s voice that matters most, but the voice of a non-member: Russia, specifically Vladimir Putin.

Since engineering Russia’s pact with the Organization for Petroleum Exporting Countries to curb supplies a year ago, Putin has emerged as the group’s most influential player. As one senior OPEC official put it on condition of anonymity, the Russian leader is now “calling all the shots.”

The Kremlin’s growing sway within the cartel reflects a foreign policy that’s designed to counter U.S. influence across the globe through a wide mix of economic, diplomatic, military and intelligence measures. That strategy, which is undergirded by Russia’s vast natural-resource wealth, appears to be working.

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Update #1: Russia-OPEC Agree on Framework to Extend Oil Cuts (Bloomberg)
Update #2: Oil Rallies as Russia-OPEC Output Deal Seems Likely (Sputnik International)

WNU Editor: There are a lot of obstacles facing OPEC right now, the biggest one being this .... OPEC in the Dark About Possible Shale Oil Rebound (Financial Tribune).