It is against this background that, over the last two decades, King Fahd has sought to elevate the oil price issue above the level of national self-interest. The Kingdom has of course expressed concern when the oil price has fallen to absurdly low levels; but it has also argued strongly for measures to bring the oil price down when that price has risen out of the range which the Kingdom and most serious analysts believe to be fair to both producers and consumers. It has always been King Fahd’s view that, in the exploitation of a finite resource as precious as oil, international and global considerations, as well as national needs, should be taken into account. It is damaging to the world economy to have major rises or falls in the price. This fact alone suggests that rather than presenting the producer/consumer relationship as one of conflict, it would be more constructive to recognize it as one of interdependence.

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