Another month, another OPEC “crisis.” It’s the usual problem: The cartel, meeting in Vienna this week, can’t agree on how to balance production with price. The Saudi-led oil exporters, boosted by non-OPEC countries such as Russia and Kazakhstan, can’t control price as such so have to imagine how to agree on output levels that may, or may not, maximize revenues. There is an agreement in principle this time, though “fudge” may be the more appropriate word. There always is, even if it is merely to delay the agreement. But don’t yawn. There are strains on the structure of OPEC and the oil market that are worth noting. In terms of revenues, OPEC is a shadow of its former self . Oil sales by its members are likely to be around $315 billion this year, compared with $565 billion last year, and $692 billion in 2018. In OPEC’s “good ol’ […]