Indeed, IEA members became increasingly concerned - and not just those, like the United States, whose domestic operators were being forced to shut in oil production, because of the low prices. There was genuine anxiety about the effects of the drastically reduced revenue flows on the Middle East producers - anxiety about the effects on investment in future production, and anxiety about the more immediate effects on social and political stability in economies so dependent on revenues from a single commodity. Maybe all this dialogue is paying off. That sounds like the sort of basis on which long-term relationships are built in open markets. Crown Prince Abdullah used it in the statement I have just quoted.
Stability is, indeed, a comforting concept.
But, hold on a minute. Lets look again at what happened in 1998. This is not stability. This is extreme volatility. OPEC, in disarray, was unable to mount a disciplined response.