This is a flat out lie. Any attempt to threaten the dominance of OPEC will be met with a crashing of the oil market. OPEC has done this before. For example, there is a move to convert coal to gasoline. However, the investors are wanting insurance from the government to protect their investment in building the facilities. They know that if they set the wheels in mothion, OPEC will drop prices and put them out of business. This happened in the early 80s to the synthetic fuels movement.

The lessening of the demand will lower the prices. And OPEC definitely does not want that. But the US lacks the will to push alternative fuels, build more refineries, alter coal to make it more environmental acceptable, etc.

Besides, the US owes a lot of *capital* to those ME countries for their political support, access, and intelligence. Fine line and slippery slope.