Economist Says OPEC Not Cutting Production For 'Non-economic, Possibly Political' Reasons

Speaking to Benzinga, Economist and Peak Prosperity Co-Founder Chris Martenson said that “below board” discussion on why Saudi Arabia and other members of OPEC don’t want to cut oil production lead to “non-economic” reasons.

“Just look at the numbers,” Martenson said.

Martenson explained that OPEC exports 30 million barrels a day, and the world is over supplied by roughly a million barrels a day.

“So you cut a million and a half barrels. Quick math: 30 million barrels at $50 gets you a billion dollars less than 28.5 million barrels at $90, which is probably where the price would go back to if you just cut 1.5 million barrels,” he said.