由于亚洲金融危机和一些国家的经济衰退,全球市场对石油的需求萎缩。国际市场的油价不断跌破12年以来的最低纪录。迫于严峻的市场形势,世界石油产业近年来开始了艰难的调整步伐。 对于主要石油出口国来说,削减原油产量是最直接的应对措施。去年,欧佩克分别于3月和6月两次召开会议,连续作出减产决定以期促升油价。但是,两次减产决定都没有得到很好的执行,未能一挽油价剧跌狂澜,去年欧佩克平均油价仅为12美元多,比1997年大跌三分之一左右。在此情况下,欧佩克部分成员国与一些独立产油大国于3月中旬在 Demand for oil in the global market has shrunk due to the Asian financial crisis and the recession in some countries. Oil prices in the international market continue to fall below their lowest level in 12 years. Under severe market conditions, the world petroleum industry has started a difficult adjustment in recent years. For major oil exporters, cutting crude oil production is the most direct response. Last year, OPEC held two meetings in March and June respectively, making continuous cuts in production with a view to boosting oil prices. However, the two production cuts have not been well implemented. They failed to pull the oil price down drastically. Last year, the average oil price of OPEC was only more than 12 U.S. dollars, down by about one third from 1997. In this case, some OPEC member states and some independent oil-producing powers were in mid-March