OPEC

OPEC was founded on September 14, 1960, in Baghdad by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela, initially as a response to Western oil companies unilaterally cutting posted prices. Over the following decade it grew to twelve members spanning the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. OPEC's decisive moment came with the 1973 Arab oil embargo, triggered by Arab members in response to U.S. support for Israel in the Yom Kippur War. The embargo quadrupled oil prices in weeks, causing the first major peacetime energy crisis and fundamentally altering the relationship between producer and consumer nations. A second shock followed the 1979 Iranian Revolution. After the price collapse of the mid-1980s OPEC struggled to maintain cohesion as member interests diverged. In 2016 OPEC forged a new coordination framework with Russia and other non-members — the so-called OPEC+ arrangement — which gave the cartel greater leverage over global supply. Current members include Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, the UAE, Libya, Nigeria, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Congo, and Gabon.

• Existed: 1960 CE – present
• Type: Entity
• Government: Intergovernmental Organization
• Capital: Vienna