OPEC’s Annual Statistical Bulletin contains over a hundred pages of tables, charts, and graphs on all things oil and gas. Countries that left OPEC include Ecuador, which withdrew from the organization in 2020, Qatar, which terminated its membership in 2019, and Indonesia, https://g-markets.net/ which suspended its membership in 2016. Qatar terminated its membership on Jan. 1, 2019, and Indonesia suspended its membership on Nov. 30, 2016, so as of 2020 the organization consists of 13 states. The chief executive officer (CEO) of OPEC is its secretary-general.
The debate largely centres on semantics and the definition of what constitutes a cartel. Those who argue that OPEC is not a cartel emphasize the sovereignty of each member country, the inherent problems of coordinating price and production policies, and the tendency of countries to renege on prior agreements at ministerial meetings. Those who claim that OPEC is a cartel argue that production costs in the Persian Gulf are generally less than 10 percent of the price charged and that prices would decline toward those costs in the absence of coordination by OPEC.
- In 1960, five OPEC countries allied to regulate the supply and price of oil.
- Members differ in a variety of ways, including the size of oil reserves, geography, religion, and economic and political interests.
- It also helps to stave off competition from the growing American fracking industry, as well as from non-OPEC and non-OPEC-affiliated countries.
- But high oil prices can put downward pressure on demand and hurt sales.
OPEC is the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. It was founded in 1960 by Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Iraq, Iran and Kuwait. The other countries that have joined OPEC since are Libya, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Nigeria, Ecuador, Gabon, Angola, Equatorial Guinea and the Republic of the Congo – bringing OPEC’s membership to 14, as of January 2019.
Other important members are Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, and the United Arab Emirates, whose combined reserves are significantly greater than those of Saudi Arabia. Kuwait, which has a very small population, has shown a willingness to cut production relative to the size of its reserves, whereas Iran and Iraq, both with overbought vs oversold large and growing populations, have generally produced at high levels relative to reserves. Revolutions and wars have impaired the ability of some OPEC members to maintain high levels of production. President Jimmy Carter tried to raise the specter of OPEC to encourage Americans to reduce fuel consumption.
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Trump was more explicit, calling OPEC a monopoly and demanding that the cartel reduce prices—a common refrain from presidents who view lower gasoline prices as a sort of tax cut for American drivers. Additionally, Congress has threatened to allow antitrust lawsuits against OPEC and its member states. President Biden has also blamed OPEC for not increasing production fast enough in response to surging oil prices that have contributed to record inflation in the United States.
Its share fell because of a 16% increase in U.S. shale oil production. As the oil supply rose, prices fell from $119.75 in April 2012 to $38.01 in December 2015. On November 30, 2017, OPEC agreed to continue withholding 2% of global oil supply. That continued the policy OPEC formed on November 30, 2016, when it agreed to cut production by 1.2 million barrels per day (mbpd).
On December 7, 2018, OPEC agreed to cut 1.2 million barrels per day. Analysts predicted the cut would return prices to $70 a barrel by early fall 2019. In November, average global prices for Brent crude oil had dropped to under $58 bpd. They believed higher U.S. supplies would flood the market with supply at the same time slowing global growth would cut into demand. OPEC claims that its members collectively own about four-fifths of the world’s proven petroleum reserves, while they account for two-fifths of world oil production. Members differ in a variety of ways, including the size of oil reserves, geography, religion, and economic and political interests.
production dispute
Having reached record levels by 2008, prices collapsed again amid the global financial crisis and the Great Recession. Meanwhile, international efforts to reduce the burning of fossil fuels (which has contributed significantly to global warming; see greenhouse effect) made it likely that the world demand for oil would inevitably decline. In response, OPEC attempted to develop a coherent environmental policy.
OPEC and Its Goals, Members, and History
Russia is now exporting more crude to countries such as India and China, which are not imposing the Western sanctions against Moscow. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the price of Brent crude soared to more than $130 a barrel. However, by March 2023 it had fallen back to little above $70 a barrel – a 15-month low.
OPEC Challenges and Responses
Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela are the founding members. Policy decisions are taken by consensus at its Vienna headquarters. In 1973 OPEC began a series of oil price increases in retaliation for Western support of Israel in the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, and OPEC members’ income greatly increased as a result. Internal dissent, the development of alternative energy sources in the West, and Western exploitation of oil sources in non-OPEC countries subsequently combined to reduce the organization’s influence. OPEC countries supply about two-fifths of the world’s oil consumption and possess about two-thirds of the world’s proven oil reserves.
The power of OPEC has waxed and waned since its creation in 1960 and is likely to continue to do so for as long as oil remains a viable energy resource. The result throughout the West was severe oil shortages and spiraling inflation (see oil crisis). As OPEC continued to raise prices through the rest of the decade (prices increased 10-fold from 1973 to 1980), its political and economic power grew. Flush with petrodollars, many OPEC members began large-scale domestic economic and social development programs and invested heavily overseas, particularly in the United States and Europe.
How to trade oil
OPEC, multinational organization that was established to coordinate the petroleum policies of its members and to provide member states with technical and economic aid. The risks of loss from investing in CFDs can be substantial and the value of your investments may fluctuate. CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. You should consider whether you understand how this product works, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. However, the G7 group of nations is trying to keep Russia’s oil revenues low by imposing a price cap of $60 a barrel on the oil that it exports.
OPEC also established an international fund to aid developing countries. Indeed, friction between Russia and Saudi Arabia came to a head at the onset of the pandemic in 2020. Saudi Arabia pushed for OPEC+ members to reduce production at a meeting in Vienna in early March. Russia, leery of a reduced market share and frustrated by U.S. sanctions targeting its flagship oil company Rosneft, refused. In response, Riyadh initiated a price war by ramping up production—a strategy it has employed successfully in the past—to force Moscow back to the table, Jaffe explains.
Iran opposes the deal because then Saudi Arabia and Russia will dominate the organization. Russia is the world’s second-largest oil exporter after Saudi Arabia. It wants to make sure its members get a reasonable price for their oil. Since oil is a somewhat uniform commodity, most consumers base their buying decisions on nothing other than price. OPEC has traditionally said it was between $70 and $80 per barrel. If prices drop below that target, OPEC members agree to restrict supply to push prices higher.