>Anywho, my question is: Is the nature of market discipline different
>if there's also an internal market of competing oil interests within
>a nation-state and those oil interests compete with all other oil
>interests on the market? Or is it simply enough that a nation's oil
>is subject to the discipline of the world market?
My sense is that it doesn't matter for world prices whether it's state companies selling into it or private ones; there are too many of them, which makes them more price-takers than price-setters. Of course, there are some private firms that would love to claim the rents available (cost of production in some ME countries is $5 a barrel or less, if I'm remembering right, vs. a world price now over $30), but that's gravy for them. I doubt it'd much affect world prices.
Doug