In recent years, the oil-producing countries refrained from making informed decisions about reducing the amount of oil they supply to the global market. The result has been a sharp decline in their revenues. In 2012, when the industrialized countries emerged from the economic crisis that hit the world economy in 2008-2009, the price of crude oil soared, reaching $110 a barrel. Three years later, in December 2015, the price of a barrel of oil was less than $50. Saudi Arabia, the most influential oil producer because of its oil reserves and its hold on a quarter of the daily supply of crude oil to markets, was behind the decision not to reduce the amounts in order to raise prices. The reason: its desire to maintain the global markets connected to the supply of Saudi oil at any price, and also, some say, its desire to decrease the economic viability of investments in developing alternative energy sources, especially in the United States.
