Is OPEC about to implode?
After sixty years of controlling the worlds oil prices the OPEC cartel is on the verge of an implosion, with two of its key members at loggerheads over proposed increases in production. A planned reconvened meeting of the cartel members on Monday  two earlier virtual meetings had failed to deliver an agreement -- was abandoned after the United Arab Emirates (UAE) refused to agree to the 400,000 barrels a day increase each month proposed by Saudi Arabia and Russia. The oil market is on edge after OPEC+ failed to reach a new supply agreement. Credit:AP  Their plan was to cautiously increase production from next month until December and extend the OPEC+ supply deal members committed to last year beyond its planned end date of April next year until the end of 2022. The UAE, however, has to agree to the proposed extension of the production limits, arguing that it has been unfairly treated by the deal struck last year as the pandemic savaged the demand for oil, having been required to cut proportionally more from its production potential than other producers.