I paid a buck fifty-five for gas yesterday. A buck fifty-five. It was the first time I’d bought gas since July, and it was absolutely amazing. Environmental factors aside, I was pretty amped about the price of gas.

But you know who’s not so amped about the price of gas? OPEC. The oil cartel is not a fan of the falling prices, and today decided to do something to try to stop it. That something, of course, is slashing oil output. From the New York Times:

The OPEC cartel agreed on Wednesday to reduce production by 2.2 million barrels a day, the group’s largest ever cut, in an effort to put a floor on falling oil prices. It is the third time producers reduced their output in as many months. Since September, members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries have pledged cuts totaling 4.2 million barrels a day, or nearly 12 percent of their capacity, a record in such a short time.

OPEC is also asking non-cartel countries to also cut output in order to get prices to raise. In the wake of this “challenging environment” (Times’ words), OPEC basically is trying to skim off some of the surplus supply lying around.

Mr. Khelil (OPEC’s president) said the group wanted to “eliminate” an overhang of commercial oil inventories, which now stand at 57 days of supplies, down to 52 days, and aimed to push up prices to $70 to $80 a barrel.

It’s fun that the producers have some control over pricing, isn’t it? Self-regulation…it’s a winner. Anyhow, takepart and visit AutoblogGreen to learn about different ways to rely less on gasoline if you do have to drive.