Op-Ed: OPEC is cracking, and American Energy Broke It

Anyone who lived through the late 1970s saw firsthand that energy is a weapon and it was used against the United States. For decades, the global oil market revolved around the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cartel’s controlling supply, and the rest of the world reacting to their whims. Cartel is exactly the word to describe it. That reality is now changing, thanks to American energy dominance. OPEC’s Cracks Are Now Visible This week, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced it will leave OPEC after nearly 60 years. This is not a symbolic move, t’s a structural break inside the cartel. The UAE currently produces roughly 3.4 million barrels of oil per day and wants to increase that output to as much as 5 million barrels per day. OPEC quotas stand in the way of that growth, and the UAE has decided those limits are no longer acceptable. That decision exposes a deeper problem for the cartel. OPEC’s pow