Reasonably accurate information of worldwide crude oil production capacity, supply and demand (CSD) is crucial to management and investment decisions in the energy industry in particular and the economy in the aggregate. As the industry relies on consistently flawed reporting processes, the industry encounters dynamics outside those normally experienced in a commodity industry.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) is the primary source of the public data. The IEA was created in 1974 as the response to the 1973 Arab oil embargo of 16 member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). This paper will help the reader to understand the IEA's organization and some of the inaccuracies inherent in the reporting processes. This understanding should assist those using the data to develop better forecasts and should be of interest to those seeking to improve the reporting process.

Coupled with this investigation will be a brief glance at the historical worldwide crude oil supply, capacity and demand and the corresponding price trends. The reader will gain a tool for enhancing their strategic planning in addition to increasing the accuracy of price forecasts by seeing the relationships between recent price trends and the IEA reports of capacity, supply and demand,

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