The present text is an edited version of the lecture which Dr. Mas`u¦d Derakhsha¦n, an eminent professor and scholar at London University, delivered at the Research Institute of Hawzeh and University. The issues which the article deals with may be divided into two main parts: The first part which reviews the current condition of oil in the world market, refers to three structural inequilibriums: The first is the disproportion in geographical distribution of oil reserves and in the consumption of oil in the world; the second, is the extreme fluctuations in oil prices; and the third is the risky process in patterns of investment in oil stocks. These inequilibriums come one after another. The lecturer concludes that the world oil market suffers from a structural inequilibrium, which does bring about problems to big oil companies. He maintains that there is only one key to the solution of this problem and that is the effective role which the OPEC plays in thwarting the plans of the big international oil companies which try to turn the crisis in the world market to their advantage. In the second part, Dr. Derakhsha¦n seeks to confirm the above-cited view offering some arguments and evidence. In answering the question "Can the west easily control OPEC?"' the lecturer points to the forms of policy-making institutions in the oil world market, and compares the possibilities which the western states and international oil companies possess with those of the OPEC, concluding the discussion with a positive answer to the above question.
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