OPEC members to meet as crude oil prices reach 7-year highs

OPEC members to meet as crude oil prices reach 7-year highs

Transcript¹

The OPEC oil cartel holds its monthly meeting Tuesday amid high prices driven by supply shortages and geopolitical tensions. Some analysts² predict prices could go up to a $100 a barrel soon.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Representatives of OPEC meet today. The cartel of oil-producing nations meets as oil prices soar around $90 per barrel and could go higher. NPR's Camila Domonoske will be watching that meeting and joins us. Good morning.

CAMILA DOMONOSKE, BYLINE³: Good morning.

INSKEEP: When we talk about $90-per-barrel oil or $100-per-barrel oil, what does that mean, you know, for me when I'm filling up my car, doing whatever?

DOMONOSKE: Yeah, I spoke⁴ to Muqsit Ashraf. He's with the consulting firm Accenture. He summed it up like this.

MUQSIT ASHRAF: Energy powers the global economy, and higher energy prices are felt by the consumer instantaneously.

DOMONOSKE: You know, you mentioned gasoline prices. High crude prices push those up. When transportation costs more, it drives up the cost of everything that gets shipped around. We've also seen volatility⁵ in natural gas prices, which can drive up heating and electricity costs. All of this contributes to inflation. So, yeah, it has a really big impact. And if markets stay the way they are now, which is always hard to predict, but we could be looking at energy prices that are elevated, you know, for a good chunk⁶ of time here.

INSKEEP: OK, so some of this is intuitive. The economy is growing, certainly unlike it was doing a couple years back at the beginning of the pandemic. And so when the economy grows, people use more energy, the price goes up and so forth⁷. But...

DOMONOSKE: That's right.

INSKEEP: ...That surely can't explain all of it. What's going on here?

DOMONOSKE: Yeah. Two other things - one, geopolitical tensions. This meeting today involves OPEC and its allies. So if you think about who's at the table, it includes Russia, right? Everyone's watching the situation in Ukraine. And Saudi Arabia, UAE - there's this conflict with the Houthi rebels. These things are a factor in prices. But the big reason here why we've seen prices come up is that supply just isn't keeping pace with the demand that you cited. And hypothetically, OPEC and its allies could decide to change that, but it's really not at all clear if they will.

INSKEEP: Sometimes they do agree to requests from consuming countries to pump more oil. Why wouldn't they do that now?

DOMONOSKE: Well, a few of them can't. Some OPEC members like Nigeria are going flat out right now and can't meet their targets for oil production. But a lot of other players don't want to pump more. You know, I spoke with Ashraf from Accenture right after he got back from a trip to the Middle East.

ASHRAF: You know, frankly⁸, there's a little bit of getting comfortable for now with the pricing that those countries are enjoying.

DOMONOSKE: Basically, if they pumped as much oil as they possibly could, that would indeed push prices down. And why would they do that when they're making so much money off of these high prices?

INSKEEP: There's always a political debate about whether climate policies are in some way affecting the price of oil by discouraging more production or making it more difficult or more expensive. Is there any connection between climate policies around the world and the prices we're seeing?

DOMONOSKE: Yeah, the analysts I've spoken to say this isn't the primary driver of high prices right now, but it could be a factor, right? If companies are being pressured by government and by investors⁹ to pump less oil, and that happens before the world actually uses less oil, then that widens the gap between supply and demand. But there's something else that's happening right now in terms of pressure on companies to pump less, and that's that they're actually hearing from shareholders¹⁰, hey, all this money that you're getting from high prices, give it to us - right? - instead of investing it in new production, which would push prices down or spending it on green investments, which would have big implications for the climate. You know, we're seeing companies like Exxon and Chevron¹¹, they're making massive profits, and so far, they've put most of them toward big fat dividends¹² for shareholders.

INSKEEP: Camila, thanks for the insights.

DOMONOSKE: Thank you.

INSKEEP: NPR's Camila Domonoske.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 volatility   

n.挥发性，挥发度，轻快，（性格）反复无常

参考例句：

• That was one reason why volatility was so low last year.这也是去年波动性如此低的原因之一。
• Yet because volatility remained low for so long,disaster myopia prevailed.然而，由于相当长的时间里波动性小，灾难短视就获胜了。

6 chunk   

n.厚片，大块，相当大的部分（数量）

参考例句：

• They had to be careful of floating chunks of ice.他们必须当心大块浮冰。
• The company owns a chunk of farmland near Gatwick Airport.该公司拥有盖特威克机场周边的大片农田。

7 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

8 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。

9 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

10 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任

11 chevron   

n.V形臂章；V形图案

参考例句：

• He wore shoulderstrap rank slides with sergeant's chevrons.他佩戴标示级别的肩章，上面有中士的V形标志。
• The chevron or arrow road sign indicates a sharp bend to the left or right.V形或箭头路标表示有向左或向右的急转弯。

12 dividends   

红利( dividend的名词复数 )； 股息； 被除数； （足球彩票的）彩金

参考例句：

• Nothing pays richer dividends than magnanimity. 没有什么比宽宏大量更能得到厚报。
• Their decision five years ago to computerise the company is now paying dividends. 五年前他们作出的使公司电脑化的决定现在正产生出效益。