Member countries of the guardianship. Member countries

Today we will talk about what is Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC): how and why it was created, which countries are members of OPEC, what this organization does, what impact it has on world markets, what is the OPEC basket, and also consider many other interesting points related to this structure. I think that it will be interesting and useful for everyone to know for a better understanding of the news of world markets.

What is OPEC?

OPEC is the Russian abbreviation for OPEC. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which means Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. OPEC is interstate organization, which was created by a number of oil-producing countries in order to control oil production.

The main task of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is to set oil production quotas for member states, the observance of which would contribute to the establishment of an optimal one in world markets.

structure of OPEC.

Today, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries includes 13 oil states (previously there were changes in the structure of this organization).

OPEC countries:

• Saudi Arabia;
• Iran;
• Iraq;
• Kuwait;
• United Arab Emirates;
• Venezuela;
• Qatar;
• Libya;
• Algeria;
• Nigeria;
• Ecuador.

At the same time, the key “player” OPEC, which has greatest influence on the decisions being made, Saudi Arabia is considered, although all the countries that are members of OPEC are documented to have equal rights. Interestingly, the headquarters of OPEC is located in Vienna, despite the fact that Austria is not part of this organization.

Please note that OPEC countries are located on different continents and produce different ones.

The main governing body of OPEC is the Conference of the member countries - something like the General Meeting of Shareholders in JSC. Such conferences are usually held twice a year, sometimes they may meet unscheduled, on an emergency basis. The conferences consider the current situation on the world oil market, forecasts of further movement of oil quotations, and make decisions that contribute to setting oil prices that correspond to the interests of the organization. The issues of admission and exit of new participants are also discussed, the Secretary General and members of the Board of Governors are approved. The current Secretary General of OPEC is Abdullah Salem al-Badri- a financier originally from Libya.

OPEC also has its own elected president, who performs representative functions. On the this moment he is a native of Qatar Mohammed Saleh al-Sada, who previously held senior positions in large oil corporations.

In OPEC, a secretariat is constantly functioning, consisting of 5 departments (administrative, legal, economic, technical and information), reporting to the Board of Governors. The secretariat develops issues considered at the Conferences, conducts market research, analyzes the implementation of decisions taken by OPEC, draws up budgets, financial statements organization and other ongoing work.

OPEC basket.

There is an asset in the global oil market called the OPEC basket. What it is?

The OPEC basket is the arithmetic average of the quotes of all grades of oil produced by countries that are members of the organization. To date, there are 13 such countries, respectively, and the OPEC basket is calculated as the arithmetic average of the cost of 13 grades of oil.

This indicator was developed and introduced in 1987, and reached its historical maximum in July 2008, when the OPEC basket cost just over $140 per barrel.

OPEC quotas.

A little about why the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries was formed. Twice a year, at their conferences, the so-called. OPEC quotas - the maximum possible daily oil production for each member country. OPEC quotas are calculated in thousands of barrels per day and depend on a specific country, its area, population density, GDP, oil fields, and production capacities.

I will not name the quotas themselves precisely, since they are constantly changing, I will outline only the main points. Saudi Arabia traditionally has the largest oil production quota - this country's figure exceeds 10,000 thousand barrels per day. Following it, Iran has an established OPEC quota about 2.5 times less - more than 4,000 thousand barrels per day. Next come Venezuela and the United Arab Emirates. The smallest OPEC quotas have such countries as Ecuador, Qatar, Algeria.

The main problems of OPEC.

In conclusion, I would like to briefly consider the main problems that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries faces in its work.

The main problem is this. Saudi Arabia and its neighboring OPEC countries are sparsely populated, have a higher level of development, a huge influx of foreign investment and huge reserves of oil fields with low production costs. These countries have the ability to make extensive manipulations with the production and sale of oil, their level of economy is higher, and they can quite easily survive, for example, a significant drop in oil prices and a reduction in production volumes.

But some other countries, especially Venezuela, Nigeria, are at a completely different level of development. They are overpopulated, poverty and destitution reign in them, they have huge external debts and are close to default (this default occurs periodically). For such countries, oil production is actually the main and only source of survival. It is in their interests to extract and sell as much as possible more oil, but OPEC membership prohibits them from increasing production.

Another important issue is the lack of effective mechanisms for monitoring compliance with established quotas and any measures to influence countries that do not comply with them. Even if we take into account official statistics, it is clear that quite often states violate the established OPEC quotas, the organization's leadership knows about this, but cannot apply anything effective to them.

In many OPEC countries, military conflicts, political confrontations, and mass protests often flare up (or even continue on an ongoing basis). All this renders Negative influence on oil production and, accordingly, the oil market as a whole.

It should also be noted that in the 21st century the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is losing its influence on the world market of “black gold”. In the last century, it controlled a more significant share of world oil production, and now, when many other countries (including the USA, Russia, China, Canada, etc.) began to increase production, OPEC's share in the world market began to decline. Moreover, many countries that are members of this organization have already reached the limit of their mining capabilities.

Now you have a certain idea of ​​what OPEC is, what countries are included there, what this organization does and how it functions. I hope that this information will be useful to you for a more competent interpretation of economic and financial news.

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OPEC is translated from English as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. The purpose of creating OPEC was and is to control oil production quotas and oil prices. OPEC was established in September 1960 in Baghdad. The list of members during the existence of the organization changes periodically and for 2018 (July) it includes 14 countries.

The initiators of the creation were 5 countries: Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. Later, these countries were joined by Qatar (1961), Indonesia (1962), Libya (1962), United Arab Emirates (1967), Algeria (1969), Nigeria (1971), Ecuador (1973), Gabon (1975). year), Angola (2007) and Equatorial Guinea (2017).

Today (February 2018), OPEC includes 14 countries:

1. Algeria
2. Angola
3. Venezuela
4. Gabon
5. Kuwait
6. Qatar
7. Libya
8. United Arab Emirates
9. Nigeria
10. Saudi Arabia
11. Equatorial Guinea
12. Ecuador

Russia is not a member of OPEC.

The countries included in the organization control 40% of all oil production on earth, this is 2/3. The leader in oil production in the world is Russia, but it is not a member of OPEC and cannot control the price of oil. Russia is an energy dependent country. The level depends on its sale economic development and welfare of Russians. Therefore, in order not to depend on oil prices on the world market, Russia should develop other sectors of the economy.

So, several times a year, OPEC ministers meet for meetings. They give an assessment of the state of the world oil market, predict the price. Depending on this, decisions are made to reduce or increase oil production.

Trusted countries

The abbreviation OPEC stands for "Association of Petroleum Exporting Countries". The main goal of the organization was to regulate the prices of black gold on the world market. The need for such an organization was obvious. In the middle of the 20th century, oil prices began to fall due to a glut of the market. The Middle East sold the most oil. It was there that the richest deposits of black gold were discovered.

In order to pursue a policy to keep oil prices on a global scale, it was necessary to force the oil-producing countries to reduce the rate of its production. This was the only way to remove excess hydrocarbons from the world market and raise prices. To solve this problem, OPEC was created.

List of countries that are members of OPEC

Today, 14 countries participate in the work of the organization. Twice a year, consultations between representatives of the organization are held at the OPEC headquarters in Vienna. At such meetings, decisions are made to increase or decrease the oil production quotas of individual countries or the entire OPEC.

Venezuela is considered the founder of OPEC, although this country is not a leader in oil production. The palm in terms of volume belongs to Saudi Arabia, followed by Iran and Iraq. All in all, OPEC controls about half of the world's black gold exports. In almost all member countries of the organization, the oil industry is the leading one in the economy. Therefore, the decline in world oil prices deals a strong blow to the income of OPEC members.

African countries that are members of OPEC

Of the 54 African states, only 6 are members of OPEC:

Most of the "African" members of OPEC joined the organization in 1960-1970. At that time, many African states liberated themselves from colonial rule. European countries and gained independence. The economy of these countries was focused mainly on the extraction of minerals and their subsequent export abroad. African countries are characterized by a high population, but also a high percentage of poverty. To cover the costs of social programs, the governments of these countries are forced to extract a lot of crude oil. In order to withstand competition from European and American oil-producing transnational corporations, African countries joined OPEC.

Asian countries that are members of OPEC

Political instability in the Middle East predetermined the entry of Iran, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Qatar, the United United Arab Emirates. The Asian member countries of the organization are characterized by low population density and huge foreign investment. Oil revenues are so huge that Iran and Iraq paid for their military expenses in the 1980s by selling oil. Moreover, these countries fought against each other.

Today, political instability in the Middle East threatens not only the region itself, but also threatens world oil prices. In Iraq and Libya Civil War. The lifting of sanctions against Iran threatens to increase oil production in this country, despite the obvious excess of the OPEC quota for oil production.

Latin American countries that are members of OPEC

Only two countries Latin America OPEC members are Venezuela and Ecuador. Despite the fact that Venezuela is the initiator of the founding of OPEC, the state itself is politically unstable. Recently (in 2017), a wave of anti-government protests swept through Venezuela related to the ill-conceived economic policy of the government. Per recent times The country's public debt has grown significantly. For some time the country kept afloat due to high oil prices. But as prices plummeted, so did the Venezuelan economy.

Non-OPEC Oil Exporting Countries

Recently, OPEC has lost the levers of pressure on its members. This situation is largely due to the fact that several oil-importing countries that are not members of OPEC have appeared on the world market.

First of all it is:

Despite the fact that Russia is not a member of OPEC, it is a permanent observer in the organization. The increase in oil production by non-OPEC countries leads to a decrease in the cost of oil on the world market. However, OPEC cannot influence them, since even the members of the organization do not always comply with the agreements and exceed the allowable quotas.

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general information

OPEC countries meeting

Which states are included

Oil production in Iran

• tourism;
• timber extraction;
• sale of gas;
• sale of other raw materials.

Organization policy

OPEC meeting

Attempts to resolve the situation

Falling oil prices

Price policy

Extraordinary meeting

OPEC meeting in Vienna

Finally

Countries that are members of OPEC

In September last year, the OPEC organization celebrated its anniversary. It was established in 1960. Today, the OPEC countries occupy a leading position in the field of economic development.

general information

OPEC in translation from English "OPEC" - "Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries". it international organization, created to control the volume of sales of crude oil and setting the price for it.

By the time OPEC was created, there were significant surpluses of black gold in the oil market. The appearance of an excess amount of oil is explained by the rapid development of its vast deposits. The main supplier of oil was the Middle East. In the mid-1950s, the USSR entered the oil market. The production of black gold in our country has doubled.

This has resulted in the emergence of serious competition in the market. Against this backdrop, oil prices fell significantly. This contributed to the creation of the OPEC organization. 55 years ago, this organization pursued the goal of maintaining an adequate level of oil prices.

OPEC countries meeting

Which states are included

To date, this organization includes 12 powers. These include the states of the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

Russia is not a member of OPEC. The characterization of the powers that are part of this organization is not an easy task. Only one thing can be said with certainty: just like 55 years ago, today the countries on the list are united by oil politics.

The initiator of the creation of this organization was Venezuela. Initially, it was included in the list, as well as the leading oil exporting states. After that, the list was replenished with Qatar and Indonesia. Libya entered the list not during the time of Colonel Gaddafi, as many people think, but under King Idris, in 1962. Emirates entered the list only in 1967.

In the period 1969-1973. the list was supplemented by members such as Algeria, Nigeria and Ecuador. In 1975, Gabon added to the list. Angola joined the list in 2007. Whether the OPEC list will be replenished in the near future is not known for certain.

Countries that are members of OPEC

What are the countries

The states that are part of this organization in 2018 produce only 44% of the world's oil production. But these countries have a huge impact on the black gold market. This is explained by the fact that the states that are part of this organization own 77% of all proven oil reserves in the world.

Saudi Arabia's economy is based on oil exports. Today, this black gold exporting state has 25% of oil reserves. Thanks to the export of black gold, the country receives 90% of its income. The GDP of this largest exporting state is 45 percent.

The second place in gold mining is given to Iran. Today, this state, which is a major oil exporter, occupies 5.5% of the world market. Kuwait should be considered no less a major exporter. The extraction of black gold brings the country 90% of the profit.

Oil production in Iran

Until 2011, Libya occupied an enviable place in oil production. Today, the situation in this once richest state can be called not just difficult, but critical.

Iraq has the third largest oil reserves. The southern deposits of this country can produce up to 1.8 million black gold in one day alone.

It can be concluded that most of the OPEC member states are dependent on the profits that their oil industry brings. The only exception to these 12 states is Indonesia. This country also receives income from such industries as:

• tourism;
• timber extraction;
• sale of gas;
• sale of other raw materials.

Indonesia as part of the OPEC countries

For other powers that are part of OPEC, the percentage of dependence on the sale of black gold can range from 48 to 97 indicators.

When difficult times come, the states with rich oil reserves have only one way out - to diversify the economy as soon as possible. This happens due to the development of new technologies that contribute to the conservation of resources.

Organization policy

In addition to the goal of unifying and coordinating oil policy, the organization has a no less priority task - to consider the stimulation of economical and regular deliveries of goods by members of those states that are consumers. Another important goal is to obtain a fair return on capital. This is true for those who actively invest in the industry.

The main governing bodies of OPEC include:

The conference is supreme body this organization. The highest position should be considered the position of General Secretary.

Meetings of energy ministers and black gold specialists take place twice a year. The main purpose of the meeting is to assess the state of the international oil market. Another priority task is to develop a clear plan to stabilize the situation. The third purpose of the meeting is to predict the situation.

OPEC meeting

The forecast of the organization can be judged by the situation on the black gold market last year. Representatives of the member countries of this organization argued that prices would be kept at the rate of 40-50 US dollars per 1 barrel. At the same time, representatives of these states did not rule out that prices could rise up to $60. This could happen only in the event of an intensive growth of the Chinese economy.

Judging by the latest information, there is no desire in the plans of the leadership of this organization to reduce the amount of oil produced. Also, the OPEC organization has no plans to interfere in the activities of international markets. According to the management of the organization, it is necessary to give the international market a chance for independent regulation.

Today, oil prices are close to the critical point. But the situation on the market is such that prices can both rapidly fall and rise.

Attempts to resolve the situation

Falling oil prices

After the start of another economic crisis that swept the whole world, the OPEC countries decided to meet in December 2015. Prior to this, 12 states met in June 2015, when there was a record drop in futures for black gold. Then the size of the fall was catastrophic - up to 25 percent.

Judging by the forecast, which at the end of 2015 was given by the experts of the organization, the crisis will not affect only Qatar. In 2016, the price of Brent crude was about $60 per barrel.

Price policy

Today, the situation for the OPEC members themselves is as follows:

1. Iran - the price by which a deficit-free budget of the state is provided - 87 US dollars (the share in the organization is 8.4%).
2. Iraq - $81 (share in the organization - 13%).
3. Kuwait - $67 (share in the organization - 8.7%).
4. Saudi Arabia - $106 (share in the organization - 32%).
5. UAE - $73 (share in the organization - 9.2%).
6. Venezuela - $125 (share in the organization - 7.8%).

According to some reports, at an informal meeting held in December 2015, Venezuela made a proposal to reduce the current volume of oil production to 5 percent. This information has not yet been confirmed.

Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi

The situation within the organization itself can be called critical. The year of black gold that has fallen in price has hit hard on the pockets of the OPEC states. According to some reports, the total income of the participating states may drop to 550 billion US dollars a year. The previous five-year plan showed much higher rates. Then the annual income of these countries is 1 trillion. USD.

Extraordinary meeting

According to the Minister of Oil Industry of Iran, the existing problem can be solved only in the long term.

In February 2016, a decision was made to hold another meeting. The initiative was taken by six members of OPEC:

The Russian Federation and Oman were also to take part in the discussion. The task of the extraordinary meeting was to conclude an agreement that would suit all participants of the 2016 meeting.

OPEC meeting in Vienna

One of the largest oil exporters - Saudi Arabia - did not hide the fact that it was not going to discuss with the rest of the OPEC members and "observers" a decrease in production. Iran also plans to significantly increase its production volumes. Today, this state says that it plans to increase the volume to 500 thousand barrels / day.

On November 30, 2017, a new meeting of the member countries of the organization was held. Unfortunately, it was not possible to accept the agreement again. According to experts, the situation with oil prices in 2017 and 2018 will not stabilize.

Finally

OPEC headquarters building in Vienna

In 2018, the members of the organization will stick to the traditional course. There are supposed to be some restrictions. But the hypothetical "sanctions" are likely to be symbolic. This is because countries will not comply with the proposed restrictions.

Opec countries 2018 list

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and Non-Cartel Countries (OPEC+) has come to the conclusion that the decision to extend the deal to reduce oil production in 2018 must be left unchanged. This was reported by TASS with reference to Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak, who on Sunday took part in a meeting of the OPEC+ Monitoring Committee in the Omani capital Muscat.

"The main conclusion of today's meeting is that we reaffirm the need for and commitment to the agreements that were reached on November 29-30 for the entire period of 2018," the head of the Russian department said.

He explained the decision taken by the ministers by the fact that the market has not yet reached a balance between demand and supply of oil. Giving forecasts for the year, Novak said that Russia is optimistic about the degree of implementation by the participants of the OPEC + deal, which was completed by 107% in the previous year. The minister also added that the deal is effective and brings results.

Novak pointed out that average oil prices in 2017 were 30% higher than a year earlier. After this fall, experts recorded an increase in investment in the industry by 6%. Also last year, according to the head of the Russian energy department, there was an increase in oil demand by 1.5 million barrels. per day, which was higher than expected.

Prior to the talks, Novak told reporters that oil prices were not the only factor in OPEC+'s decision to pull out of the deal to cut output.

“The price factor is not the only factor when to start exiting a trade. Let's look at the situation on the market. We do not want any individual indicators to be indicators. There should be a full recovery of the market,” he answered the relevant question.

OPEC - this is abbreviation borrowed from of English language and stands for " The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries"and is translated into Russian as "Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries". The declared purpose of this institution is to support favorable price for the sale and extraction of oil, which is essentially the only product exported by the member states OPEC.
The emergence of OPEC coincided with the growth of instability and the collapse of the colonial system in the world. This organization appeared in 1960 year, coincidence or not, but at that time, like mushrooms after the rain, new states began to appear, usually Asian or African.
Until that time, the Western world was exploiting its impoverished colonies with might and main, taking precious resources, including oil, at bargain prices.
In this market, like hungry jackals, seven huge corporations or "seven sisters", as they were sometimes called, feasted. These were British Petroleum, Gulf Oil, Mobile, Chevron, Texaco, Royal Dutch Shell and Exxon, and it was they who received fabulous profits from the exploitation of the subsoil .
Initially, OPEC included such states as: Venezuela, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran. As expected, this policy brought huge profits to these countries. Subsequently, the five states in 1961 Qatar joined in 1962 Libya and Indonesia, in 1967 year United Arab Emirates, in 1967 Algeria, then during 1971-1975 Gabon, Ecuador, Nigeria joined them.

Today, OPEC members are 12 countries: Algeria, Angola, Venezuela, Iran, Iraq, Qatar, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Ecuador

According to researchers, OPEC member states can control production from 30-40 percent of world oil.

However, Russia, Oman, the USA, Mexico, Norway, Great Britain, Brunei, Oman are far from the last states in terms of mining, but they are not included in OPEC.

• headquartersOPEC located in the capital of Austria.
• supreme bodyOPEC is a summit of member states that meet every two years.
• OPEC determines the average oil price based on the cost 12 varieties that are harvested in the participating states. In another way, it is also called " OPEC basket".
• OPEC quotas- is the restriction and regulation of the export and production of oil for various state organizations.

Recent Notable Events

The last OPEC quota was adopted in autumn 2014 year. The participating countries entered into an agreement not to reduce oil production. For this reason, a high level of production was maintained in 30 million barrels per day. Thus, the price of oil instantly collapsed. If earlier it was at a price 90-100 dollars per barrel, then almost halved to 50-60 dollars.

OPEC countries

Headquarters Vienna, Austria Organization type international organization official languages English Leaders The president Mohammed Saleh al-Sada General Secretary Mohammed Sanusi Barkindo Base Base September 10-14, 1960 Start of activity January 1961 opec.org Media files at Wikimedia Commons

OPEC member countries control about 2/3 of the world's oil reserves. They account for ~35% of world production or half of world oil exports. The proven oil reserves of OPEC countries currently amount to 1,199.71 billion barrels.

Organization goals

The goal of OPEC is to coordinate activities and develop a common policy regarding oil production among the member countries of the organization, maintain stable oil prices, ensure stable oil supplies to consumers, and get a return on investment in the oil industry.

Energy and oil ministers of the OPEC member states meet twice a year to assess the international oil market and forecast its development for the future. At these meetings, decisions are made on the actions to be taken to stabilize the market. Decisions on changes in oil production in accordance with changes in market demand are made at OPEC conferences.

Organization structure

The supreme body of the organization is the Conference of the Member States, which is convened, as a rule, 2 times a year. The Conference decides on the admission of new members, approves the composition of the Board of Governors, the budget and financial report, appoints the Chairman of the Board of Governors, the Secretary General, his deputies and the Auditor.

The Board of Governors prepares questions for the Conference, manages the work of the Secretariat, which is a permanent body. The Secretariat conducts research and prepares proposals for the Board of Governors and the Conference, monitors the implementation of decisions taken, drafts annual OPEC budgets. It consists of administrative, economic, legal, information and technical departments.

Story

1960s

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries was founded at a conference in Baghdad on September 10-14, 1960, at the initiative of five developing oil-producing countries: Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.

The 1960s were characterized by the process of decolonization and the formation of new independent states. During this period, world oil production was dominated by the seven largest transnational companies, the so-called "Seven Sisters": Exxon, Royal Dutch Shell, Texaco, Chevron, Mobil, Gulf Oil and British Petroleum. OPEC was established after the Seven Sisters cartel unilaterally reduced the purchase price of oil, on the basis of which they paid taxes and rents for the right to develop natural resources to oil-producing countries.

The purpose of the creation of the organization was the desire of the new independent states to gain control over their resources and their exploitation, taking into account national interests. In the 1960s, there was an oversupply of oil in world markets, and therefore one of the goals of the creation of OPEC was to prevent further price drops. OPEC developed its collective vision of oil production and created the Secretariat of the organization, which was initially located in Geneva, and from September 1, 1965 - in Vienna.

In 1968, OPEC adopted the Declaration on the Petroleum Policy of the Member Countries of OPEC, which emphasized the inalienable right of all countries to exercise permanent sovereignty over their natural resources in the interests of their national development.

During the 1960s, the number of OPEC member countries doubled due to the addition of five more oil-producing countries: Qatar (1961), Indonesia (1962), Libya (1962), the United Arab Emirates (1967), Algeria (1969).

In November 1962, OPEC was registered with the UN Secretariat as a full-fledged intergovernmental organization. In 1965 OPEC established official relations with the UN Economic and Social Council, became a member of the UN Conference on Trade and Development.

1970s

During this decade, the influence of OPEC on the world market has grown significantly due to the fact that the governments of the member countries of OPEC took control of oil production in their territory.

In the 1970s, OPEC emerged as a powerful organization in the oil market, whose policies greatly affected the price of crude oil. This was facilitated by two major events in the world: the embargo on the supply of oil by Arab countries in 1973 and the beginning of the Iranian revolution in 1979.

OPEC has expanded its mandate since the first summit meeting of heads of state and government in Algiers in 1975. OPEC called for a new era of cooperation in international relations in the interests of world economic development and stability. This led to the creation of the OPEC Fund for international development in 1976. Member countries have undertaken ambitious socio-economic development schemes.

During the 1970s, the number of OPEC member countries grew to 13 by 1975 due to: Nigeria (1971), Ecuador (1973) and Gabon (1975).

On December 21, 1975, the headquarters of OPEC was captured by a group of six armed terrorists led by Carlos the Jackal. Three people died as a result: an Austrian policeman, a member of the Libyan delegation, and an Iraqi security officer.

1980s

At the beginning of this decade, oil prices reached record levels, but then began to decline and in 1986 reached a low of about 10 US dollars per barrel due to an excess of supply over demand and a decrease in the consumption of hydrocarbon raw materials due to the replacement of energy sources.

The share of OPEC member countries in world oil production has fallen sharply, the total proceeds from the sale of oil has decreased by a third from the previously reached level, which caused serious economic difficulties for many member countries of the organization.

Thanks to the measures taken within the organization, prices were able to stabilize at a level approximately equal to half the price level of the early 1980s, and the share of OPEC member countries in the context of a newly growing world production began to recover. This was achieved through the harmonization and establishment of oil production quotas for OPEC member countries and the establishment of a pricing mechanism based on the OPEC basket. In the same years, it was possible to establish a dialogue and establish cooperation with countries that are not members of OPEC.

1990s

Prices changed less dramatically during this decade compared to the previous one. Thanks to the timely actions of OPEC, the oil supply crisis was avoided due to the military events in the Middle East in 1990-1991. However, excessive volatility and general price weakness dominated this decade due to the economic downturn in Southeast Asia and the mild winter in the Northern Hemisphere in 1998-1999. However, the world saw a steady recovery, which was due to the greater integration of the oil market, which took into account the changes that took place in the world after the collapse of the USSR and the collapse of the socialist system. This period was also characterized by the growing processes of globalization, the revolution in communications and other high-tech areas. Serious changes have taken place in the dialogue between oil producers and consumers, as well as in matters of relations between OPEC member countries and non-OPEC members. Since the 1992 Earth Summit, negotiations on climate change have gained momentum under the auspices of the United Nations. Under these conditions, OPEC seeks to balance the supply of oil to the world market.

During this decade, there was a change in the composition of OPEC: Gabon left OPEC, and Ecuador suspended its membership in the organization until October 2007.

In early December 2018, the Qatari authorities decided to leave OPEC and focus entirely on natural gas production and liquefied gas production.

This means that the Organization currently has a total of 14 member countries.

OPEC basket

The term "basket" OPEC (OPEC Reference Basket of crudes) was officially introduced on January 1, 1987. The price of the "basket" is defined as the arithmetic average of the physical prices of the following grades of oil: Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Basra Light (Iraq), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Es Sider (Libya), Girassol (Angola), Minas (Indonesia), Iran Heavy (Iran), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Merey (Venezuela), Murban (UAE), Oriente (Ecuador), Qatar Marine (Qatar), Saharan Blend (Algeria) .

The historical maximum for the "basket" of OPEC is the price mark of $140.73 per barrel, registered on July 3, 2008.

In March 2008, Oriente (Ecuador) was added to the basket. In January 2009, Minas (Indonesia) was removed from the basket and Merey (Venezuela) was added to the basket instead of BCF 17 (Venezuela). Since January 2016, Indonesia has been included in the basket again. Thus, at present, the price of the OPEC basket is determined as the arithmetic average of the physical prices of the 13 above-mentioned grades of oil produced by the cartel countries.

OPEC quotas

OPEC quotas and oil production by country, thousand barrels per day

Country	Quota (01/07/05)	Extraction (03/16)	Loot (05/16)	Loot (06/16)	Mining opportunity
Algeria Algeria	894	1084	1080	1085	1430
Angola Angola	1900	1776	1773	1773	1700
Indonesia Indonesia	-
Iran Iran	4110	3291	3562	3644	3750
Iraq Iraq		4189	4281	4217
Kuwait Kuwait	2247	2772	2740	2800	2600
Libya Libya	1500	345	296	332	1700
Nigeria Nigeria	2306	1722	1424	1523	2250
Qatar Qatar	726	664	659	662	850
Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia	10 099	10 120	10 241	10 308	10 500
UAE UAE	2444	2682	2826	2914	2600
Venezuela Venezuela	3225	2320	2188	2095	2450
Total	31 422	32 251	32 361	32 643	32 230

Data for OPEC countries as of March 2012

	Algeria	Angola	Ecuador	Iran	Iraq	Kuwait	Libya	Nigeria	Qatar	Saudi Arabia	UAE	Venezuela	Total:
Population (million people)	36,30	19,05	14,31	75,35	32,44	3,57	6,56	159,64	1,70	26,11	4,74	28,95	408,72
Area (1000 km²)	2382	1247	281	1648	438	18	1760	924	11	2 150	84	916	11859
Population density (inhabitants per km²)	15	15	51	46	74	198	4	173	155	12	56	32	34,47
GDP per capita (USD)	4488	4478	3984	4741	3881	36 820	11 314	1213	75 643	16 996	56 812	10 223	-
GDP at market prices (billion dollars)	162,92	85,31	57,00	357,22	125,90	131,32	74,23	193,67	128,59	443,69	269,10	295,96	2324,91
Export value (billion dollars)	57,80	49,26	17,37	83,79	52,08	65,98	46,31	70,58	72,05	235,34	198,36	65,79	1014,71
Oil export (billion dollars)	38,30	47,24	9,65	71,57	51,15	61,67	41,87	61,80	29,28	196,19	74,03	62,32	745,07
Balance of payments balance (billion dollars)	15,10	−1,04	−0,43	21,56	6,90	43,14	16,16	7,83	38,79	23,27	14,38	8,56	-
Proved oil reserves (billion barrels)	12,20	9,50	7,21	151,17	143,10	101,50	47,10	37,20	25,38	264,52	296,50	211,17	-
Oil production (1000 b/d)	1190	1 691	476	3544	2358	2312	1487	2048	733	8166	2324	2854	29 213
Refinery capacity (1000 b/d)	652	39	188	1741	800	936	380	445	80	2109	466	982	8818
Production of petroleum products (1000 b/d)	631,5	47,0	185,1	1743,3	513,2	892,7	545,8	249,4	133,0	1914,0	355,4	1414,8	8625,2
Consumption of petroleum products (1000 b/d)	338	110	220	1775	566	260	299	259	116	1436	238	675	6282
Oil export (1000 b/d)	709	1683	340	2583	1890	1430	1 118	2464	586	6644	2103	1562	23 112
Export of petroleum products (1000 b/d)	314,1	7,5	28,1	370,6	5,0	631,6	48,3	23,1	321,6	950,9	187,9	751,1	3639,8

Russia and OPEC

Relations with Russia have a significant impact on the policy of the organization. Out of fear that Russia will increase its market share, OPEC refuses to cut production unless Russia does the same. This situation is the main obstacle to the recovery of the world oil price.

In 2015, OPEC offered Russia to join it, but the country decided to remain an observer.

OPEC problems

OPEC brings together countries whose interests are often opposed. Saudi Arabia and other countries of the Arabian Peninsula are sparsely populated, but have huge oil reserves, large investments from abroad, and maintain very close relations with the Seven Sisters. Other OPEC members, such as Nigeria and Venezuela, are characterized by high population and poverty. These poorest countries are undertaking costly economic development programs and are heavily indebted. They are forced to extract and sell significant volumes of oil, especially if the price of crude oil declines.

Also in the 1980s, Iraq and Iran, at war with each other, increased oil production to pay for military spending. Saudi Arabia has been pressuring Iran and Iraq to return to quota compliance.

Although OPEC countries successfully negotiate oil production quotas, there are no mechanisms within OPEC to monitor and regulate compliance with them. Therefore, quotas are often not met. OPEC countries have averaged 31,000,000 barrels of crude oil per day since 2012, despite the fact that the total set quotas assumed production at the level of 30,000,000 barrels per day. Iranian representatives have repeatedly stated their intention to increase oil production by 1,000,000 barrels per day after the likely lifting of economic sanctions (there is a process of negotiations to lift them), despite the fact that OPEC quotas have already been exceeded

OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) was formed in 1961 at a conference in Baghdad.

What is OPEC is an interstate organization that was created by oil-producing countries in order to establish control over oil production in their region, unite the efforts of countries and control oil prices.

Five countries proposed to create such an organization: Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iran and Iraq.

This was due to the fact that in the 60s of the XX century the process of decolonization began, new independent states, and the main world share of oil production was owned by 7 transnational corporations, which set their own rules and at one moment significantly reduced the purchase prices for oil.

The independent states that emerged wanted to independently manage their natural resources and do it only for the benefit of their state and society. Since the supply of oil at that time was excessive, measures were needed to prevent a subsequent fall in prices. In this connection, OPEC approved its oil production program and created its own body - the Secretariat, which in our time is located in Vienna.

Opinion: OPEC is a consequence. The desire to concentrate the management of the oil industry in a single unit, unify processes, ensure uninterrupted supply of raw materials to developed countries and world factories. It is also a powerful tool for influencing world economy, on Russia, through the manipulation of oil production and prices.

Initially, OPEC included 5 founding countries. Subsequently, 5 more joined them: the UAE, Qatar, Libya, Indonesia and Algeria. At the moment, 12 states are represented in OPEC: Venezuela, Kuwait, Iran, Iraq, United Arab Emirates, Libya, Algeria, Ecuador, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Angola.

Indonesia became an oil importer and left OPEC. In 2018, Qatar announced its withdrawal from OPEC. In 2015, Russia was invited to join OPEC, but the Russian Federation refused.

Recently it has become an important tool political influence. The economies of some countries are very dependent on current oil prices and suffer huge losses when they decrease.

Some OPEC countries (Nigeria, Angola, Iraq, Kuwait), with large volumes of oil production, have weak economic systems, large external debts and often enter into unjustified military conflicts (for example, Kuwait's invasion of Iraq in 1990). In Venezuela for a long time was the dictatorship of Hugo Chavez, replaced by his follower Muduro. Therefore, OPEC countries are facing great difficulties, and even control of 2/3 of the world's oil reserves does not allow stabilizing the situation in the economy and the political sphere.

The opinion is often replicated that OPEC is no cartel, and this organization has long lost real levers of influence on the price of oil. Meanwhile, market observations in the context of meetings and decisions of OPEC show the fallacy of this opinion.

Opinion: OPEC collusion to increase oil prices - cause a negative in developed countries (not counting), the backlash is growth alternative energy: wind, sun. The transition to electric vehicles is accelerating. The world is tired of being dependent on a handful of countries.