Post-meeting, Opec has to adjust to a new future

ON Thursday, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) exerted its influence from behind closed doors in Vienna, but even the all-powerful 12-nation group must be aware of how the walls are closing in on it.

The world might have spent the week looking towards the oil cartel for an indication of where prices will head, but Opec's sway has diminished in recent years.

While the group used to put out more than 50 per cent of the world's production in the 1970s, its share of total global oil production averaged 43.4 per cent in 2013 . Its dominance is being eroded on many fronts. The shale revolution in the United States has added to the oil glut, driving prices lower.