OPEP
OPEP stands for Organización de Países Exportadores de Petróleo. In English, the organization is known as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). It is an intergovernmental organization that coordinates the petroleum policies of its member states to secure fair and stable prices for producers and a reliable energy supply for consumers. It was founded in 1960 in Baghdad by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. The headquarters are in Vienna, Austria. Since its founding, several other countries have joined, and it now operates with non-OPEC producers through the OPEC+ framework.
Its core purpose is to coordinate petroleum policies to stabilize the market. The primary instrument is the
As of 2024, OPEC has 13 member countries: Algeria, Angola, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait,
OPEC's role has evolved amid changing demand, geopolitics and competition from non-OPEC production, especially U.S. shale.