OPEC's Dominance of the Global Oil Market: The Rise of the World's Dependency on Oil

Abstract

This article examines the rise of the world's dependency on oil and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' (OPEC) dominance of the global oil market during the 1970s, OPEC's fall in the 1980s, and its resurgence in the 1990s. It contends that efforts by the Global North's countries to conserve fuel and to develop alternative energy sources have proved a much more arduous task than at first thought. Although there has been some progress in this area, OPEC continues to dominate the world oil market in the twenty-first century, as global demand for and dependence on oil continue to rise. A call is issued for solutions.