OPEC Definition & Usage Examples

OPEC’s worst-ever crisis, according to energy expert Daniel H. Yergin, was Iraq’s 1990 invasion of Kuwait. In his book The Prize, Yergin writes that for the first time “sovereignty and national survival and not merely the price of oil” were at stake. The invasion removed four million barrels of oil from the world market and caused prices to jump. Other member states feared that Iraq would soon invade Saudi Arabia and leapt into action, rather than remain neutral as they had during the Iran-Iraq War.

1. This ability to adjust production makes OPEC a key player in the global oil market.
2. The organisation’s future relevance may hinge on its ability to adapt to the changing energy landscape and contribute constructively to the global transition towards renewable energy.
3. Kissinger understood this transition–and his diplomacy enabled it to emerge in a way that avoided major or sustained confrontations and strengthened the global order.
4. For example, in July 2008, oil prices hit an all-time high of $143 per barrel.

Squabbles among OPEC members have occasionally metastasized into conflicts. For example, Iran and Iraq waged an eight-year-long war that led to hundreds of thousands of deaths. While Iran accused its Arab neighbors of holding oil prices artificially low to help Iraq, neither Iraq nor Iran left OPEC, which remained officially neutral. The Oil and Energy Ministers from the OPEC members meet at least twice a year to coordinate their oil production policies.

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. OPEC also established an international fund to aid developing countries. OPEC members collectively produced 28.7 million barrels of oil per day in 2022, accounting for 38% of the world’s oil supply. Its largest producer is Saudi Arabia, the second-biggest in the world behind the U.S. Because OPEC controls so much global production capacity, it has a lot of influence on the global oil market. In a historic move, OPEC and non-OPEC oil-producing countries, including Russia, collaborated to address the global oil surplus by agreeing to production cuts.

Who is in OPEC?

Members include Algeria, Angola, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Venezuela. Together, they manage a significant portion of the world’s oil reserves, giving OPEC substantial influence over global oil prices and policies. The relationship between OPEC production and oil prices can be seen especially clearly when looking at supply outputs from Saudi Arabia – OPEC’s largest oil producer. In fact, many choose to use Saudi Arabia alone as an indicator of global oil market liquidity. To counter this, OPEC partnered with Russia and several other major exporters to coordinate production and stabilize prices.

You are unable to access opec.org

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 https://bigbostrade.com/ to record inflation in the United States. This group was established in 2016—a time when the economy was seeing significantly low oil prices. OPEC faces considerable challenges from innovation and new, green technology.

1980: oil crisis and 1980s oil glut

In a controversial move, Al-Ghais urged OPEC members to reject any agreement at the summit targeting fossil fuels, rather than emissions. This stance has been perceived as a direct challenge to the international community’s efforts to combat climate change and transition to renewable energy sources. Amongst OPEC’s current members, Saudi Arabia holds the most sway due to its substantial oil reserves and production capacity; the country is the group’s de facto leader and often guides OPEC’s strategies and decisions.

Green-Tok, a newsletter dedicated to climate green news

Members of OPEC+ are Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Malaysia, Mexico, Bahrain, Brunei, Oman, Sudan and South Sudan. Decisions about OPEC’s policies will be announced in its twice-yearly will disney stock split in 2022 sessions, when quotas are set for each of its 13 members. Oil prices tend to be volatile in the build up to these announcements as markets price in expectations.

OPEC’s relationship with environmental issues and climate change is complex, reflecting the tension between the organisation’s primary role as a guardian of its members’ oil interests and the growing global urgency for environmental sustainability. As the world increasingly shifts its focus towards green energy and reducing carbon emissions, OPEC’s stance on these matters has been a subject of intense scrutiny and debate. In 2016, OPEC agreed to coordinate crude oil supply with 10 non-OPEC countries under what became the OPEC+ umbrella.

OPEC members coordinate policies on oil prices, production, and related matters at semiannual and special meetings of the OPEC Conference. The Board of Governors, which is responsible for managing the organization, convening the Conference, and drawing up the annual budget, contains representatives appointed by each member country; its chair is elected to a one-year term by the Conference. OPEC also possesses a Secretariat, headed by a secretary-general appointed by the Conference for a three-year term; the Secretariat includes research and energy-studies divisions. From the outset, Kissinger understood that these actions had the potential not only to do enormous economic damage to the U.S. and many other nations but also to produce deep divisions among the ranks of America’s allies. Many allied nations distanced themselves from U.S. policy by seeking to make separate deals with oil producers and refused to share oil with the Netherlands, which went along with U.S. policy.

OPEC has used its sway over the global oil markets many times to affect pricing. The most notable was in 1973 when OPEC members instituted significant oil production cuts and an oil embargo against the U.S. and other countries supporting Israel in the Yom Kippur War. The oil embargo caused the price of oil to spike from $3 a barrel to $12.

Founded in 1993, The Motley Fool is a financial services company dedicated to making the world smarter, happier, and richer. The Motley Fool reaches millions of people every month through our premium investing solutions, free guidance and market analysis on Fool.com, top-rated podcasts, and non-profit The Motley Fool Foundation. CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage.

What is the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)?

Ecuador suspended its OPEC membership from 1992 until 2007 and then withdrew in 2020. Indonesia suspended its membership beginning in 2009 and briefly rejoined in 2016 before suspending its membership again that year. Qatar, during a prolonged blockade implemented by other OPEC countries, terminated its membership in January 2019 to focus on natural gas production.