The point and purpose of running a cartel is, of course, to raise the price at which you can sell your product. The trick in a cartel is to be able to control enough of either production or consumption so as to be able to control the price. Given the millions who can do economic scribbling there's no point at all in my trying to limit output so as to increase income. But for some decades now Opec has been able to control, just about well enough, sufficient of oil production to be able to drive the price. The price for a commodity is determined by the costs of marginal production--thus the oil price globally is going to be determined by the marginal costs of opening up a few more fracking wells.

Source: Forbes March 26, 2017 13:30 UTC