Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries + (OPEC+)

In News

  • OPEC+ is going to cut crude oil output by 100k barrels per day from October 2022.

About OPEC+

  • Created in 2016 
  • Backdrop: OPEC countries decided to ally with other oil-producing countries outside the group to cut down the global output of oil.
  • Members: OPEC+ refers to a group of 23 oil-producing countries that includes:
    • 13 members of OPEC: Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Algeria, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Libya, Nigeria, the Republic of the Congo, and Venezuela
    • 10 other oil-producing countries: Russia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brunei, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, South Sudan and Sudan
  • Facts:
    • Saudi Arabia is the largest oil producer among OPEC members.
    • Russia, which produces more oil than even Saudi Arabia, plays a crucial role, along with OPEC, in influencing global crude oil prices.
    • It controls more than 50% of the world’s crude supplies

Image Courtesy: Wiki 

 

Significance of this grouping

  • The global energy market was largely dominated by western multinational companies, called the ‘Seven Sisters’.
    • Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (now BP),
    • Royal Dutch Shell (now Shell),
    • Standard Oil Company of California (later Chevron),
    • Gulf Oil (now merged into Chevron),
    • Texaco (now merged into Chevron),
    • Standard Oil Company of New Jersey-Esso (now part of ExxonMobil) and
    • Standard Oil Company of New York-Socony (now part of ExxonMobil).
  • The new grouping was seen as a response by oil-producing countries to protect their interests amid the rise of the U.S. shale industry.

Source: TH

 
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