Will OPEC's Decision Hurt Consumers at the Pump?

Jupiterimages/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) -- After a meeting of OPEC oil ministers Wednesday resulted in no change to the level of oil production, oil prices jumped up to over $100 a barrel.

With consumers having already seen gas prices soar earlier this year as a result of turmoil in the Middle East, how could this new development affect them?

In the past few weeks, gas prices have started to come down.  Energy analyst Phil Flynn says OPEC's failure to boost production may have an impact on that progress in the short run.

"It may slow the decreases that we've seen at the pump," he says.

But Flynn says Saudi Arabia could decide to boost production on its own, turning its back on OPEC.

"The Saudi Arabians have all the spare production capacity; they're doing most of the over production," he says. 

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Oil Up on OPEC Announcement; Exxon Has Big Discovery

KAREN BLEIER/AFP/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- Oil settled at $100.74 in New York trading Wednesday, up $1.65 after OPEC declined to boost oil production.  In the apparently acrimonious meeting Wednesday, representatives of Iran and Saudi Arabia took opposing sides, with the Saudis failing in their effort to increase production.
 
The disagreement among members means that the so-called GCC countries, which include Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait, can decide to boost production without OPEC’s approval.
 
Oil prices have been reacting to events in the Middle East and North Africa in recent months, though the price of oil is still well below the recent high of $113.93 reached in April.
 
Meanwhile, Exxon announced the discovery of 700 million barrels of oil from a deepwater well in the Gulf of Mexico.  The company called it one of the largest discoveries in the gulf in the last decade.
 
This is certainly the largest discovery of oil since the BP oil spill and the subsequent moratorium on deepwater drilling that was lifted late last year.
 
This oil will not have any impact on oil markets until the oil is produced, and even then 700 million barrels is not a huge amount compared to global oil consumption of 18.8 million barrels per day.  The discovery will, however, embolden advocates of deepwater drilling who point to the Gulf of Mexico as a local and stable source of energy to meet U.S. demand.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

OPEC: No Increase In Oil Production, Meeting Breaks Down

OPEC.org(VIENNA) -- The regular meeting of the OPEC oil ministers in Vienna broke up Wednesday with no agreement to increase oil production, according to reports.

The Saudis had reportedly been advocating for more production to counter the slowing global economy.

Reports suggest a block led by Iran would not agree to any increase in output, which is sure to lead to a per-barrel increase in oil prices.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio