The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Companies (OPEC)

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The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting
Companies (OPEC)

• Adapted from various sources by
• Scott Townsend
• Woodstock Middle School

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• The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting
  Companies (OPEC) was created in 1960 to unify and
  protect the interests of oil-producing countries.
  OPEC allows oil-producing countries to guarantee
  their income by coordinating policies and prices
  among them. This unified front was created
  primarily in response to the efforts of Western
  oil companies to drive oil prices down. The
  original members of OPEC included Iran, Iraq,
  Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela. OPEC has
  since expanded to include six more countries,
  making a total membership of 11.

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• OPEC represents a considerable political and
  economical force. Two-thirds of the oil reserves
  in the world belong to OPEC members likewise,
  OPEC countries are responsible for half of the
  world's oil exports. The fact that OPEC controls
  the availability of a substance so universally
  sought after by modern society renders the
  organization a force to be reckoned with.

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• The first display of the effect OPEC power could
  have on the world's politics was in the 1970s.
  When the Yom Kippur War exploded in the Middle
  East, the United States assisted Israel in
  defending itself against the Egyptian and Syrian
  armies. In what may have been a response to this
  interference in the war, OPEC instituted an oil
  embargo that targeted the United States and its
  European allies. The embargo lasted from October
  19, 1973 to March 17, 1974.

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• The effects of the OPEC oil embargo were
  widespread. Immediate effects included inflation
  and economic recession in the United States and
  other countries targeted by the embargo. Car
  owners in the United States were restricted to
  specific days on which they could purchase
  gasoline even dates for cars with even-numbered
  license plates, and odd dates for cars with
  odd-numbered license plates.

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• A national law introducing more restrictive speed
  limits was instituted, as well as a year-round
  Daylight Savings Time. The OPEC oil embargo also
  drove auto manufacturers to produce smaller and
  more fuel-efficient vehicles. Even after the
  embargo ended, oil prices continued to rise, and
  the United States economy continued to suffer.

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• www.opec.org October 2, 2007
• http//www.petroleumiran.com/opec.html October 2,
  2007
• http//www.ccds.charlotte.nc.us October 2, 2007