It's a 13 member organization which has 40 percent of the global market, and its latest move is an attempt to make its product more valuable. Earlier this week OPEC, or the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, announced that it intends to cut daily production by around 2.2 million barrels of oil a day, the largest-ever production cut announced by the organization. The move comes as the price per barrel of oil hovers around the 40 dollar mark, a far cry from the record high of 147 dollars a barrel we saw earlier this year. Still, even after the announcement by OPEC was made, the price of oil continued to drop, with deep-seeded concerns about the overall state of the global economy. So what is this move by OPEC going to mean for both oil exporting countries and net importers, such as China?

Ni hao, you're listening to  People In the Know, your window into the world around you, online at crienglish.com here on China Radio International. In this edition of the program we're discussing oil prices. So let's get started.

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First we'll hear from a Chinese expert. Victor Gao is the Director of the China National Association of International Studies.

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We're going to take a short break. When we come back we'll be hearing from an overseas energy expert.

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Ni hao, you're listening to  People In the Know, your window into the world around you, online at crienglish.com here on China Radio International. I'm Paul James in Beijing. In this edition of the program we're discussing OPEC's decision this week to cut oil production by over 2 million barrels a day to try to boost demand and, as such, the price. For more on this we're joined on the line now by Professor Anthony Owen, Professor of Energy Economics with the School of Economics and Finance at Curtin University of Technology in Perth.

(Dialogue with Owen)

And with that we close out this edition of  People In the Know, online at crienglish.com here on China Radio International. From massive highs to significant lows, 2008 is going to be a year to remember for anyone who trades and deals with oil futures. Questions or comments for us can be sent to people@cri.com.cn. For Executive Director Zhao Yang and Producers Chen Mo and Xu Yang, I'm Paul James in Beijing. Enjoy the weekend. We'll talk to you on Monday.