OPEC is an acronym for the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. It is a permanent, intergovernmental organization, created at the Baghdad Conference in September 1960.
History and Joining of Members:
Founding Members – Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.
These countries were later joined by Qatar (1961), Indonesia (1962), Libya (1962), the United Arab Emirates (1967), Algeria (1969), Nigeria (1971), Ecuador (1973), Gabon (1975), Angola (2007), Equatorial Guinea (2017) and Congo (2018).
Ecuador suspended its membership in December 1992, rejoined OPEC in October 2007, but decided to withdraw its membership of OPEC effective 1 January 2020. Indonesia suspended its membership in January 2009, reactivated it again in January 2016, but decided to suspend its membership once more at the 171st Meeting of the OPEC Conference on 30 November 2016. Gabon terminated its membership in January 1995. However, it rejoined the Organization in July 2016. Qatar terminated its membership on 1 January 2019.
Currently, it has 13 members . (July 2022)
Algeria, Angola, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela
The OPEC Statute distinguishes between the Founder Members and Full Members – those countries whose applications for membership have been accepted by the Conference.
The Statute stipulates that “any country with a substantial net export of crude petroleum, which has fundamentally similar interests to those of Member Countries, may become a Full Member of the Organization, if accepted by a majority of three-fourths of Full Members, including the concurring votes of all Founder Members.”
It aims to manage the supply of oil in an effort to set the price of oil in the world market, in order to avoid fluctuations that might affect the economies of both producing and purchasing countries.
It is headquartered in Vienna, Austria.
Read articles related to International Organizations.
Objectives
OPEC’s main objectives are given below:
- Unification and coordination of petroleum policies among Member Countries, in order to achieve just and stable prices for petroleum producers
- Ensuring of an efficient, economic and regular supply of petroleum to consuming nations and an adequate return of investment members.
- In order to secure fair and stable prices for petroleum producers
- A fair return on capital to those investing in the industry
Functions
The OPEC Member Countries adjust their oil productions activities in order to bring stability to the petroleum market and help manufacturers get a good return on their investments. This policy is also designed to ensure that oil consumers continue to receive stable supplies of oil.
The ministry of energy and hydrocarbon affairs meet twice a year to review the status of the international oil market and decide upon steps that will bring security in the oil market.
The Member Countries also hold other meetings that address various point of interests including that of petroleum and economic experts and specialized bodies such as committees and panels in charge of the environment.
OPEC+
- The non-OPEC countries which export crude oil along with the OPECs are termed as OPEC plus countries.
- OPEC plus countries include Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brunei, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, Russia, South Sudan and Sudan.
- Saudi and Russia, both have been at the heart of a three-year alliance of oil producers known as OPEC Plus, which now includes 11 OPEC members and 10 non-OPEC nations that aims to shore up oil prices with production cuts.
