As the world’s oil producers gather in Vienna, they are all hurting from prices that crashed a year ago and are hovering at a little over $40 a barrel. One country, Saudi Arabia, could probably drive up prices if it wanted to cut its production. But the Saudis appear willing to endure the pain rather than make a move that would help rivals like Iran and Russia. One of the key reasons oil is cheap today is a decision made by the Saudi and other OPEC countries one year ago. There was a massive increase in supplies, thanks in large part to shale oil production in the U.S., says Jason Bordoff, director of Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy policy. “Production in the U.S. was growing over 1 million barrels per day per year, it was a huge growth, the largest multi-year growth of production of any country in […]