The problem in the Chinese context is that they are generally at the mercy of the extractive practices of other nations, especially that of the US. The US enjoys and boasts a bountiful surplus of shale and other natural gas extractions. Currently, the demands to not equal the surplus available, and the prices have fallen as a result. There are some consequential effects of this decrease in price, including that it is difficult to predict and implement capital investments. From the Chinese perspective, it would be excellent to have a global organization to aid in stabilizing the markets and creating a sticky price that would allow for investments domestically, knowing that some of the US-based production will be held down to help in equilibrium between supply and demand. OPEC, in turn has an opportunity to show how effective they can be with allowing an even longer-term fixed pricing scheme allowing investments in oil production and transportation efforts to be even more knowable and predictable. The benefits of an increase in supply is that consumption may shift to using more of that product versus more costly energy supplies. This could have a net-benefit in that certain industries, such as coal extraction which boast a number of difficult-to-tackle environmental practices on their own, could ultimately be no longer sustaining ventures as natural gas prices are just too competitive for these current pricing structures. It is not an opportunity for celebration, unless the regulation of shale gas extraction industries are more effective in protecting the environment compared to that of the coal industry.
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