Oil prices have been at record levels and are currently at around $45 a barrel. In the most efficient oilfields it costs only 80 to 90 cents to extract a barrel. Most producing countries want greater oil price stability and fear for the effect on their economies and on world demand when, as in recent years, oil prices have fluctuated between $20 and $50 a barrel. In response, some producers are expanding production capacity in order that they can respond more flexibly to demand and rising prices with greater production. Exploration and research into extraction techniques have been commissioned to investigate ways in which production can be expanded. This exploration and research brought unexpected results. Oil analysts have concluded that there is much more oil in the world than current estimates assume and that new techniques make it possible to extract much more of the known reserves economically than previously thought.
Question: New extraction techniques allow oil to be extracted at a price of between 80 and 90 cents a barrel.
Options:
A. true, B. false, C. uncertain
Answer: B