CHANGE: US Energy Boom Deals Blow to OPEC. “This is the beginning of a trend. The American energy boom is already changing Saudi thinking regarding its own oil reserves, and OPEC’s influence is in an even more advanced stage of decline. Divisions within the cartel and the threat of competition from ‘vast’ North American reserves pose a serious threat to a tight-knit organization that isn’t used to external competition. And as its influence wanes, the remaining members will begin to compete for portions of a continually shrinking pie, weakening the organization’s cohesion and further reducing its influence.”