But the basic rule of political economy may not be sufficient to best understand the matter; therefore, the problem will be analyzed within the international context. An additional cause, aside the diminishing resources compared against the increasing demand, could be given from within the United States and would materialize in an unstable economy and a weaker dollar, which is less trusted by the exporting countries. Then, the country possesses limited capacity to refine the oil, and these facilities are restricted by an increased demand, technological limitations and even environmental concerns, which force them to increase operating expenditure and eventually influence the retail price. Other reasons, this time outside the United States, could refer to increasing political tensions between importing and exporting countries, but also the global regulations imposed by various organizations influencing the market of oil and gas.

The next step in this direction will be to identify the international institution in charge of monitoring the market for oil and gas. This organization is generically OPEC, or the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. Thirteen countries are currently members of OPEC and they are (in alphabetical order) Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and finally, Venezuela (Official Website of OPEC, 2008). It will be interesting to see the behavior of the countries in the organization, whether any military or political tensions...

Also, one could also observe the regulations imposed by the institution, the control it has over the supply of oil and also how these regulations influenced the international price of oil.
The research paper on the current price of natural gas and crude oil, aside with a presentation of the national and international causes for the price increase will end with a conclusion that will succinctly restate the primary findings. These will refer to the society's pressure on the natural resources, their limitations, the current situation within the United States as well as the local and global reasons for the increased prices from the standpoint of OPEC and its members.

References

2007, International Natural Gas and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Imports and Exports, Energy Information Administration, http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/international/gastrade.htmllast accessed on May 30, 2008

2008, Official Website of OPEC, http://www.opec.orglast accessed on May 30, 2008

2008, Crude Oil and Total Petroleum Imports Top 15 Countries, Energy Information Administration, http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/petroleum/data_publications/company_level_imports/current/import.htmllast accessed on May 30, 2008

2008, the World Factbook - United States, Central Intelligence Agency, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/us.htmllast accessed on May 30, 2008