Because almost all crude oil produced by the Gulf States is sour, and most of the global surplus is sweet, any production cut by Saudi Arabia and its neighbors would not drive prices back up and rebalance the oil market. The only way to do that – and prevent an OPEC breakup – would be to reduce the production of light sweet crude, including by US producers, which would thus lose market share.
由于几乎所有海湾国家生产的原油都是重质油，而全球富余的大多是轻质油，因此无论沙特及其邻国如何减产都不会驱动价格回归和恢复石油市场的平衡。要实现上述目标并防止欧佩克解体，唯一的办法可能是包括美国在内的生产商减少轻质原油生产并因此失去市场份额。只要能做到这点，油价将有望再次急升。