Kazakhstan and Russia to benefit from OPEC break-up

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is about to fall apart, The Independent reports. The rumors appeared after the meeting of the Organization's member-countries on June 8 in Vienna. OPEC representatives failed to agree on whether to increase oil production or not. 7 out of 12 member-states, including Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Venezuela, Iran, Iraq and Libya spoke against the offer of Saudi Arabia to increase production. The idea was supported only by Kuwait, Qatar and the UAE. Experts say that after the failure of the meeting Saudi Arabia may unilaterally increase oil production up to 500 thousand barrels per day. As per The Independent, the lack of consensus heated up oil prices amid fears of shortages. As per analyst Amrita Sen, oil demand will be very high in the coming months. Another analyst, Marc Otswald, also agreed that OPEC is “on the point of break-up”, adding that this may benefit Kazakhstan and Russia the most.