US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent declared the imminent dissolution of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) once the situation in the Middle East is settled. RIA Novosti reports that the Treasury chief argued current energy prices are being artificially inflated by the protracted conflict around Iran, but as geopolitical tensions ease, the oil cartel will lose its grip on price setting. “One day… the situation in the Middle East will be resolved, and OPEC will fall apart,” the policymaker said.
Scott Bessent is on the same page with US President Donald Trump, who has long described the 1960‑founded group as an illegal cartel that undermines the principles of free trade. Washington expects that structural distortions and growing non‑compliance with quotas will drive internal disintegration. Signs of internal jitters already showed up in spring 2026, when the United Arab Emirates formally withdrew from OPEC and the OPEC+ pact and moved to independently boost supplies.
A further blow to the alliance’s cohesion could come from losses in Latin America. Following reports that Venezuela’s oil reserves are coming under de facto US control after the capture of President Nicolás Maduro, Caracas’s interim authorities have begun considering an exit from OPEC. The departure of key exporters and a flood of supply into world markets once regional military tensions subside would risk stripping the cartel of its quota‑management levers and could ultimately render coordinated production curbs ineffective.
