A Critique of “OPEC” – The Website
OPEC stands for “Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries” and is comprised of the largest oil-producing nations of the world. Through OPEC, these Member Countries work together to control the price and availability of oil--one of the most significant commodities in today’s worldwide economy. Founded in September of 1960 with headquarters in Vienna, the OPEC organization is currently comprised of twelve member countries (History of OPEC, 1). OPEC’s mission is defined in a formal organizational statute that identifies their role “to coordinate and unify the petroleum policies of its Member Countries and ensure the stabilization of oil markets in order to secure an efficient, economic and regular supply of petroleum to consumers, a steady income to producers and a fair return on capital for those investing in the petroleum industry” (Our Mission). The OPEC website (OPEC.org) is designed to provide information to the general public about the function of the organization, the benefits that the organization provides, and the milestones that have been achieved. Through highlighted material and carefully selected topics on their website, the OPEC organization strives to convey an appearance of being a supportive and unbiased charitable organization focused on improving the global economy through supply and demand principles. The OPEC website contains a wealth of resources that help to explain the current state of oil production and how it affects the global economy, but it does not elaborate on potential downfalls of price-fixing and the impact that oil “cartelization” has historically caused to the world economy.
The OPEC organization has long been criticized for the influence it holds over the ...
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Prior to the year of 1999, Exxon and Mobil were the two largest American oil companies, which were direct descendants of the John D. Rockefeller’s broken up Standard Oil Company. In 1998 Exxon and Mobil signed an eighty billion dollar merger agreement in hope to form Exxon Mobil Corporation, the largest company ever created. Such a merger seems astonishing, not only because it reunited parts of Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company, but also because it would be extremely difficult for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to approve this merger due to its size and importance in the oil market. In fact, it took the FTC an entire year after the merger was proposed to make a decision due to its rigorous analysis in the product and its geographic market, the concentration of the oil market, the potential anticompetitive effects of the merger, the effects towards their growth and labor force, and lastly, the likelihood of entry and the efficiencies that may affect anticompetitive concerns. Although all of these notions are played a role in the analysis of the merger, it is important to remember that the merger’s result efficiencies did outweigh the the anticompetitive risks that were involved, especially since the oil market was headed towards decreasing prices to expand production.
Over the years, the Exxon Mobil Corporation have repeatedly earned the ranking of a top-rated Fortune 500 company by flawl...
OPEC is a clear example of economic nationalism, a conglomerate of countries agreeing to control their respective economies by limiting trade and export of oil. The 1973 oil crisis was caused by countries in OPEC imposing an embargo on the US and several other countries after the US resupplied Israel during the Yom Kippur ...
America is dependent on other nations for their ability to create energy. The United States is the world’s largest consumer of oil at 18.49 million barrels of oil per day. And it will continue to be that way for the foreseeable future considering the next largest customer of oil only consumes about 60% of what the U.S. does. This makes the U.S. vulnerable to any instability that may arise in the energy industry. In 2011, the world’s top three oil companies were Saudi Aramco (12%), National Iranian Oil Company (5%), and China National Petroleum Corp (4%). The risk associated with these countries being the top oil producers is twofold. One, they are located half way around the world making it an expensive to transport the product logistically to a desired destination. And two, the U.S. has weak, if not contentious,...
As Wikipedia has become more and more popular with students, some professors have become increasingly concerned about the online, reader-produced encyclopedia. While plenty of professors have complained about the lack of accuracy or completeness of entries, and some have discouraged or tried to bar students from using it.
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Now that we are living in an ever changing world, technology is viewed as the most resourceful tool in keeping up with the pace. Without the use of technology, communication would be limited to using mail for delivery and encyclopedias for research. Although technology has improved the way we communicate and find information for research, the information is not always valid. Unfortunately, for those of us who use the internet for shopping, research, or reading articles of personal interest the information is not treated the same as a your magazine or book. While such literature is reviewed by an editorial staff, internet literature or information can be published by anyone. In order to reap the full benefit of having the use of technology for any purpose, there are five basic criteria’s one must keep in mind as an evaluating tool for deciding whether or not the particular website is a reliable source for information.
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