Erin Lowdon

 OPEC: The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries ◦ Permanent intergovernmental organization ◦ Created at the Baghdad Conference between September 10 th – 14 th  Founding Members ◦ Iran ◦ Iraq ◦ Kuwait ◦ Saudi Arabia ◦ Venezuela

 “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.”

 1960’s: ◦ Formation of OPEC happened during a transition within the international economic and political landscape ◦ Oil market was dominated by the “Seven Sisters” ◦ Stationed in Vienna, Austria ◦ Membership grew to 10 by  1970’s: ◦ Rose to international prominence during this decade ◦ Prices rose greatly twice resulting in the Arab oil embargo in 1973 and the Iranian Revolution in 1979 ◦ OPEC called for a new era of cooperation in international relations ◦ OPEC Fund for International Development (1976) ◦ Membership grew to 13 by 1975.

 1980’s: ◦ Crash of 1986 ◦ Petroleum revenue dropped below a third of earlier peaks = sever economic hardship for Member Countries ◦ Environmental issues surfaces on the international energy agenda.  1990’s: ◦ Prices moved less dramatically than in the ‘70’s and ‘80’s. ◦ Adjustments were still being made to a post-Soviet world ◦ One country left while another suspended its Membership.  2000’s: ◦ Helped strengthen and stabilize crude prices in the early years of the decade ◦ Prices rose to record levels in mid-2008 before collapsing in the emerging global financial turmoil ◦ One country joined, another reactivated its Membership, and a third suspended it.

 Current Members: ◦ Iran ◦ Iraq ◦ Kuwait ◦ Saudi Arabia ◦ Venezuela ◦ Qatar (1961) ◦ Indonesia (1962): Suspended its membership from January 2009 ◦ Libya (1962) ◦ United Arab Emirates (1967) ◦ Algeria (1969) ◦ Nigeria (1971) ◦ Ecuador (1973): Suspended its membership from December October 2007 ◦ Angola (2007) ◦ Gabon ( )

 Spot Price of OPEC Basket & Selected Crudes Real Price of OPEC Basket  Refiners’ Margin  Differentials  Crude Oil Production  Closing OECD Oil Stock Prices  World Oil Supply Demand Balance  Real GDP Growth Rates  Crude Oil Spot Freight Rates  Normal Currency per US$  ect/media/downloads/data_graphs/MI pd f ect/media/downloads/data_graphs/MI pd f

 OPEC has dominated the oil industry since their founding in the 1960’s  The US still imports oil  Oil-price.net Information

 OPEC’s Homepage   and-oil-prices-is-the-story-over.php and-oil-prices-is-the-story-over.php