The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is a permanent, intergovernmental Organization, created at the Baghdad Conference on September 10–14, 1960, by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. The five Founding Members were later joined by ten other Members: Qatar (1961); Indonesia (1962) – suspended its membership in January 2009, reactivated it in January 2016, but decided to suspend it again in November 2016; Libya (1962); United Arab Emirates (1967); Algeria (1969); Nigeria (1971); Ecuador (1973) – suspended its membership in December 1992, but reactivated it in October 2007; Angola (2007); Gabon (1975) – terminated its membership in January 1995 but rejoined in July 2016; Equatorial Guinea (2017); and Congo (2018). OPEC had its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, in the first five years of its existence. This was moved to Vienna, Austria, on September 1, 1965. OPEC’s objective is to co-ordinate and unify petroleum policies among Member Countries, in order to secure fair and stable prices for petroleum producers; an efficient, economic and regular supply of petroleum to consuming nations; and a fair return on capital to those investing in the industry. Taken From: OPEC: A Brief History
General Information
What is OPEC? (CNBC)
OPEC and Its Goals, Members and History
OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID)
Videos:
What the Heck is OPEC? – CNN Money
Explained: OPEC (The Globe and Mail)
OPEC Oil Embargo (1973)
Opinion
Has OPEC Been a Success? – Focus Economics
OPEC Has Your Back. Feel Better? – Bloomberg Opinion
Is OPEC’s oil era is over?- The Conversation
Why and How We Should Break Up OPEC now?- The New Atlantis
OPEC in the News
OPEC’s War on Fracking Is Good News For The Rest of Us- The New Yorker
What higher oil prices mean for OPEC and the US- Brookings
OPEC and Allies part ways on oil cuts – Bloomberg
Further Reading on E-International Relations
- Online Resources – The World Trade Organization
- Online Resources – The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
- Online Resources – The International Atomic Energy Agency
- Online Resources – The North Atlantic Treaty Organization
- Online Resources – Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)
- Online Resources – The Organization of American States