OPEC agrees to curtail production for the first time in eight years

Oil ministers at the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed to cut production of crude for the first time in eight years Wednesday, a move that may produce ripple effects from global financial markets to the U.S. economy and all the way to the corner gas station.

“I think it is a good day for the oil markets, it is a good day for the industry and ... it should be a good day for the global economy,” Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih told reporters after the announcement was made at OPEC headquarters in Vienna, Austria. “I think it will be a boost to global economic growth.”

Under the plan, the cartel will cut production by roughly 1.2 million barrels a day. OPEC’s dominant member, Saudi Arabia, will absorb the biggest hit by cutting about 500,000 barrels a day.

The deal also extends to some non-OPEC countries such as Russia, which is slated to reduce production by 300,000 barrels a day.

But the agreement is a tenuous one.

The longstanding rivalry between the Saudis and Iran, a country looking to boost its revenue from oil after years of international sanctions, nearly derailed Wednesday’s meeting and the agreement with non-OPEC countries won’t be formally addressed until a meeting on Dec. 9.

Analysts at Barclays expressed skepticism about the deal, sending out a report titled “Show me the cuts” and describing its outlook as “Too good to be true.”

Nonetheless, oil prices surged within moments of initial reports of a deal being struck.

At the close of trading Wednesday, the price of Brent crude — the benchmark price for global oil — was up $4.09, finishing at $50.47 a barrel.

West Texas Intermediate — the recognized price for most North American producers — closed at $49.44 a barrel, a one-day jump of $4.21.

The last time OPEC countries cut production was in December 2008 when the price of Brent crude was trading at $40 a barrel.

The projected cut comes as oil prices have experienced a sustained two-year slide. In November 2014 OPEC surprised energy analysts by keeping production levels high, instead of cutting supplies to bolster prices.

Prices plunged from more than $100 a barrel in the summer of 2014 to as low as $26 a barrel in February of this year.

The price drop has been good news for motorists, as gasoline prices have remained low, but it proved disastrous for many OPEC countries that depend on oil revenue to keep their economies afloat.

North American producers also suffered, reversing the many of the gains they made in shale oil formations in recent years, resulting in an estimated 200,000 layoffs and dozens of bankruptcies that affected the larger U.S. economy.

“I would argue one of the reasons we have reported very sluggish economic growth over the last two years is because of the drop in the investment in oil and gas companies,” said Bernard Weinstein, associate director of the Maguire Energy Institute at Southern Methodist University.