Opec Organization Of The Petroleum Exporting Countries

The region I chose is OPEC, which is the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. OPEC was established in 1961 with 5 countries. Since then, it has expanded to 12 countries: Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. As technology improves and the production of oil and natural gas fluctuates, changes in the economy will occur and create tensions and conflicts, as well as opportunities. Because of OPEC s impact on the global economy for natural gas and oil, the strengthening of these countries connections open the door for the emergence of a new world region. There are many economic indicators that affect the OPEC organization. This chart is a†¦show more content†¦In a speech made by Mr. Mohammad Barkindo, OPEC is focused on Securing an efficient, economic and regular supply of petroleum to consuming nations; and a fair return on their capital to those investing in the petroleum industry. The organization holds meetings to discuss what is going on in the global oil and gas economy to establish a reasonable price per barrel. Each country holds a different number of the global oil reserves so the price effects them differently. If the market can stabilize at the right price, the countries can move past tensions and build stronger relationships and create a larger global impact. According to the U.S. Energy Information Association, OPEC member countries produce about 40 percent of the world s crude oil. Equally important to global prices, OPEC s oil exports represent about 60 percent of the total petroleum traded internationally. The other 60 percent of production comes from non-OPEC countries. According to opec.com, the OPEC countries are in control of 81 percent of the crude oil reserves. The demand for oil is increasing exponentially. The United States alone is expected to increase by 1.6 billion barrels by 2016. The organization contains a spare capacity on hand in case of an oil crisis. The number each country can reserve is based on the refinery capacity, which can be seen in the OPEC