There’s a piece I’m missing. If we are to take the article at face value SA opted to let prices fall. OK let’s go with that. So how would they have done that? Well only way I know of would be to turn on the spigots in both SA and elsewhere. So the prices are low but volume is high. Now had they chosen the opposite policy they (and the other OPEC states had they chosen to go along with the plan) would have tightened the spigots so prices would have been high(er) but volume would have been low. Either way - there is not quick fix when viewed from their perspective. They were either going to get relatively high prices and relatively low volume or relatively lower prices at relatively higher volume. But at least (again from their perspective) they get to squeeze their high cost competitors. So I don’t think they made a poor choice - just that they have a Hobbsian choice with no good answers (for them).
Even if they do try to throttle back production to drive up the price, the oil the Iranians are about to flood the market with will negate it