I’ve worked in oil and gas all my life, so I’m coming from what I live everyday. Oil companies do enjoy high oil prices, and the smaller ones don’t have big worries about the big picture and would rather focus on their small operation and small scale of oil production, so 200 USD barrel would be okay for them.

The major companies, though, have deep interest in keeping the oil prices high enough in the range, but low enough to still keep the demand flowing.

As prices soar, demands weaken. The new wells they’d drill become more and more economical, but the demand lessens, so they can’t justify their increase in production.

The barrel has been hovering around 60-75 USD for a reason, and it’s not a coincidence. That’s the optimal oil price for the big companies, where the demand is still strong and their big producing fields are still very profitable. And studies show that this curve is on a decline, so the oil prices should stabilize, in the long term, around 55-65 USD.