OPEC+ (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 – IR)

Context: OPEC+ extended its production cuts as it seeks to bolster a fragile market, but also set a date to begin bringing some oil back online later this year.

Organization of the Oil Exporting Countries Plus (OPEC+)

• 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.
• OPEC+ crude output represents about 41% of global oil production. 
• 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).

o 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, created at the Baghdad Conference in 1960, by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela.
• Headquarters: 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.
• Members: 12 as mentioned above. Angola left the grouping effective from 1st Jan, 2024