Talking about the price of oil in a thread supposedly about "FAQ about the union"....
OK....
The government of Saudi Arabia is what pretty much sets the price of a barrel of oil. They have sufficient production capability, that they can decide at what price level they want to see a barrel of oil to be (world market), then adjust their production to either increase or decrease the price oil.
Pretty much all other producers of oil operate at or near full capacity. The OPEC cartel attempts to distribute production quotas to its member countries based on a variety of factors (maximum production capacity within a member country being the foremost), but virtually all OPEC members other than Saudi Arabia commonly exceed their production quotas. This leaves Saudi Arabia as the real manipulator of world wide oil prices.
The Saudi government decides where IT wants to see the price of a barrel of oil to be, then it adjusts its monthly production volume to meet that price point. This is why the US government is so adept at kissing the butt of the Saudis (to get them to keep production at or slightly above what is needed to satisfy world demand) - and why the government of Saudi Arabia desires a strong American presence in the Persian Gulf (to protect them from Iran now, and 25 years ago from both Iran and Iraq). It is a bit of a kabuki dance between the two nations (who have VERY different goals otherwise).
As far as a "conspiracy" to set world oil prices....
The price of crude has followed a trend which has easily explained reasons for price variations.
'73 - Arab Oil Embargo. Demand exceeded worldwide supply, real prices spiked (almost tripled). This was a natural response to the Arabs gaining complete control of the oil production within their countries (prior to that, the oil companies had the major determining decision as to production, and consequently price level).
early 80's - Iran-Iraq War. Conflict always creates uncertainty and increases prices. In addition, each combatant was attacking the others capability to export oil in an attempt to wage economic warfare to achieve a favorable result. Both the Iraqis and Iranians were attacking tankers carrying the other's oil. Remember the 'reflagging of tankers"... Prices almost doubled from the '73 levels.
mid 80's - real prices drop to '73 levels then a bit lower. The US intervened in the Gulf, protecting tankers from attack. in the process, a US Navy frigate is hit by an Iraqi missile (USS Stark).
1990 - Iraq invades Kuwait (as a direct consequence of the war it had just concluded with Iran). Prices jump but not markedly. The US intervenes in the situation to ensure the steady supply of Saudi oil and prevent the Iraqis from gaining too much power. I remember this well, I spent some time in the Gulf while wearing a uniform.
mid-late 1990's - prices gradually fall to what is pre-'73 prices in real terms. Stability in the aftermath of the "2nd Gulf War" (Desert Storm) along with the Asian meltdown result in an oversupply of oil. Oil falls to $15 or so a barrel, and if memory serves correctly, gasoline prices in the US in early '99 hit a low of about 90 cents a gallon (half of that price was gas taxes). Gasoline was cheaper per gallon (minus the taxes) than a gallon bottle of distilled water at the supermarket. At this time OPEC institutes a MAJOR cut in production in order to get the price of a barrel of oil back up (it works).
2000s - Peak oil has hit, and spare productive capacity has practically disappeared. All through the decade, the price of oil takes an upward climb hitting briefly $140 a bbl in 2008. This was truly a speculative bubble, and the price subsequently collapsed in early 2009. The "Arab Spring" took Libyan production off the market for a few years (Saudi made up most of the shortfall), but the weak US dollar resulted in oil prices climbing back up to the $90 bbl level.
There is no conspiracy. There are only 4 factors really at play. 1) Uncertainty in supply due to conflict. 2) Role of Saudi government in determining both worldwide supply and consequently worldwide price of oil 3) Degree of US presence in Persian Gulf 4) Strength or weakness of the US dollar (all oil is priced in US Dollars).
Given worldwide demand for oil will only increase and production has pretty much reached its limits (peak oil), the price of oil should and will continue to steadily climb. If conflict breaks out in the Gulf again, prices will spike. If the US continues its "quantitive easing", prices will climb faster. If the government of Saudi Arabia makes a decision to restrict production, prices will skyrocket.
No conspiracy... just macroeconomics at work in combination with what is known as International Political Economy.