Opec faces a new energy world, and it better realise that

WEAK oil prices were inevitable once the largest and most profligate petroleum user found a way to extract crude from its stubborn rocks. Consequently, a capacity glut by the end of the decade was also forecast to a world worrying about looming supply shortages.

The current market situation would have been far worse if traditional producers such as Libya were not afflicted. And how far south prices will head is still being debated after months of fall.

The slide became starker as the global economy that tanked seven years ago has struggled to recover, affecting oil demand. Geopolitical tensions over Iran's controversial nuclear programme have lost some bite. Washington and Teheran have reduced acrimony, and the West has resumed nuclear talks.