Question: when did the oil prices start to drop
Answer: Because of oversupply and lack of agreements between oil - producing countries members of the OPEC ( Saudi Arabia in particular , which pumped at world 's records ) and also because of lack of coordinated efforts between OPEC and Non-OPEC countries ( Russian being a big player , refusing to reduce production ) the price of oil fell rapidly in 2015 and continued to slide in 2016 causing the cost of WTI crude to fall to a 10 - year low of $26.