OPEC-PLUS (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 – IR)

Context: Members of the coalition of the world’s top oil-producing nations, OPEC - Plus have agreed to extend voluntary oil output cuts of 2.2 million barrels per day into the second quarter.

OPEC-PLUS

• About: It is a group of 22 oil-exporting countries which meets regularly to decide how much crude oil to sell on the world market.
• Aim: To work together on adjusting crude oil production to bring stability to the oil market.
• At the core of this group are the 12 members of OPEC (the Organization of the Oil Exporting Countries), which are mainly Middle Eastern and African countries.
• Members: 12 members of OPEC (Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Algeria, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Libya, Nigeria, the Republic of the Congo, and Venezuela) and 10 other oil-producing countries (Russia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brunei, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, South Sudan and Sudan).
• Russia, a major oil producer surpassing even Saudi Arabia, holds a pivotal position alongside OPEC in shaping worldwide crude oil price trends.

OPEC

• About: It is a permanent, intergovernmental organization of 12 countries, created at the Baghdad Conference in 1960, by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela. Angola decided to left the grouping in Dec 2023, effective from Jan 2024.
• Headquarter: Vienna, Austria.
• Aim: To regulate oil supply with the aim of stabilizing the global oil price, thus preventing volatility that could negatively impact the economies of both oil-producing and oil-importing nations.