OPEC
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries has been around for over 45 years, and has been regulating the production of oil among member-countries since that time. In financial markets, meetings held by OPEC are closely watched as they can give insight into the amount of supply that OPEC members will bring to the market in future months and weeks. Also closely watched are OPEC members’ comments on the price of oil, as they set the tone for producers’ overall views and can potentially impact supply.
Most assume that OPEC’s members are mostly, if not entirely, in the Middle East, although this is far from true. Four out of five of the initial founders–Iraq, Kuwait, Iran, and Saudi Arabia–were from that region, but were joined by Venezuela upon the organization’s founding between September 10th and 14th, 1960. Since then, some members members, including important ones such as Nigeria and Indonesia to have joined the group come from outside the Gulf region.
OPEC’s self-stated role is as follows:
The OPEC Member Countries coordinate their oil production policies in order to help stabilise the oil market and to help oil producers achieve a reasonable rate of return on their investments. This policy is also designed to ensure that oil consumers continue to receive stable supplies of oil.