CHAPTER 12
OPEC
In this chapter we review key aspects of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), its pricing practices, some historical aspects, and its role during the downturn of the commodity cycle of 2008 to 2009. OPEC was organized by five oil-producing member countries on September 1, 1960, in Baghdad, Iraq. Its founding members are Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Iran, Iraq, and Kuwait. OPEC today is a cartel consisting of 12 oil-producing countries. Its headquarters is in Vienna, Austria, and the group generally holds quarterly meetings to discuss global crude prices and crude production quotas for its members.
