OPEC and OPEC+
About the OPEC:
- OPEC is a permanent intergovernmental organization of 13 oil-exporting developing nations that coordinates and unifies the petroleum policies of its Member Countries.
- The OPEC Secretariat is the executive organ of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
- Located in Vienna, it also functions as the Headquarters of the Organization, in accordance with the provisions of the OPEC Statute.
- Founded on 14 September 1960 in Baghdad by the first five members (Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela), it has, since 1965, been headquartered in Vienna, Austria, although Austria is not an OPEC member state.
- As of September 2018, the 13 member countries accounted for an estimated 44 percent of global oil production and 81.5 percent of the world’s proven oil reserves, giving OPEC a major influence on global oil prices that were previously determined by the so-called “Seven Sisters” grouping of multinational oil companies.
- Current OPEC members are Algeria, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, the Republic of the Congo, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela.
- Meanwhile, Ecuador, Indonesia and Qatar are former OPEC members.
OPEC+:
- Opec+ is a group of 23 oil-exporting countries which meets regularly to decide how much crude oil to sell on the world market.
- In 2016, when oil prices were particularly low, Opec joined forces with 10 other oil producers to create Opec+.
- Those new members included Russia, which also produces over 10 million barrels a day.
Syllabus: Prelims
