As the leader in both world oil reserves and oil production, (and by that right the most powerful member of OPEC), Saudi Arabia is one of the few members of the OPEC oil cartel that constantly battles to keep prices low. Although OPEC often sets production limits to cut supply and raise prices, Saudi Arabia often ignores those limits and increases production to meet world demand and keep prices low and customers happy. While this may seem to fly in the face of conventional wisdom, (considering Saudi Arabia has the largest supply of one of the most sought after goods in the world), there is a reason behind their determination to keep prices low. The problem with keeping prices high is that it hurts consumption of that good. Saudi Arabia's entire export economy is centered on oil, and if oil gets too pricey, people are going to be searching for alternatives to replace oil and Saudi Arabia will find itself in serious economic trouble. Other OPEC countries such as Iran and Venezuela don't have nearly as much oil in the ground or money in the bank as Saudi Arabia does. Their main goal is to maximize profits. These diametrically opposed perspectives on the oil market have created a lot of friction within OPEC.Most recently, Saudi Arabia flew in direct opposition to OPEC when they announced a cut back in production on September 9, 2008, of more than half a million barrels per day. In response, Saudi Arabia increased its production to satisfy the world markets. When OPEC members get hungry for profits and decide to scale back production, Saudi Arabia is the nation that is able to balance the scales and keep oil prices in check.
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