They won't be alone going forward. Iran will become an even bigger factor in the next few years now that the removal of sanctions allows them access to more of the world market. And Iraq has some of the world's largest reserves. If the country ever settles down, the Iraqis will have a major say in world prices.
When it comes to the price of oil, which remains in the mid-forties, all of that gets taken into account. What doesn't get taken into account is that the nations of OPEC have a long-term strategy, America doesn't. And, on top of all that, we have Russia moving into Syria. That will invariably add a new dimension to the Middle East energy equation.
Even as OPEC loses money, they are growing their market share. When prices rise, they'll rake in profits while the competition scrambles to catch up. It's also a geopolitical move. The world depends on oil, and they've got their hands on the spigot.
The United States, however, is taking a short-term view. Our economy is powered by cheap energy, and $2 gasoline makes a lot of folks happy. We know it'll hurt when prices go back up — which they will — but the American public has pretty much made energy a back-burner issue. Things are good today, so we'd prefer to wait until tomorrow to worry about the future.