<P> Part of the decline in prices and economic and geopolitical power of OPEC came from the move to alternate energy sources . OPEC had relied on price inelasticity to maintain high consumption, but had underestimated the extent to which conservation and other sources of supply would eventually reduce demand . Electricity generation from nuclear power and natural gas, home heating from natural gas, and ethanol - blended gasoline all reduced the demand for oil . </P> <P> The drop in prices presented a serious problem for oil - exporting countries in northern Europe and the Persian Gulf . Heavily populated, impoverished countries, whose economies were largely dependent on oil--including Mexico, Nigeria, Algeria, and Libya--did not prepare for a market reversal that left them in sometimes desperate situations . </P> <P> When reduced demand and increased production glutted the world market in the mid-1980s, oil prices plummeted and the cartel lost its unity . Mexico (a non-member), Nigeria, and Venezuela, whose economies had expanded in the 1970s, faced near - bankruptcy, and even Saudi Arabian economic power was significantly weakened . The divisions within OPEC made concerted action more difficult . As of 2015, OPEC had never approached its earlier dominance . </P>

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