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