OPEC- an international intergovernmental organization created by oil-producing countries in order to stabilize oil prices. IN OPEC composition includes 12 countries: Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Qatar, Libya, United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Nigeria, Ecuador and Angola. The headquarters is located in Vienna.

OPEC as always operating organization was created at a conference in Baghdad on September 10-14, 1960.

In 2008, Russia announced its readiness to become a permanent observer in the cartel.

The goals of OPEC are:

· Coordination and unification of the oil policies of the member states.

· Determination of the most effective individual and collective means of protecting their interests.

· Ensuring price stability on world oil markets.

· Attention to the interests of oil-producing countries and the need to ensure: sustainable income for oil-producing countries; efficient, cost-effective and regular supply of consumer countries; fair returns from investments in the oil industry; security environment in the interests of present and future generations.

· Cooperation with non-OPEC countries to implement initiatives to stabilize the global oil market.

The energy and oil ministers of OPEC member states meet twice a year to assess the international oil market and forecast its development for the future. At these meetings, decisions are made on the actions that need to be taken to stabilize the market. Decisions on changes in oil production volumes in accordance with changes in market demand are made at OPEC conferences.

Organizational structure of OPEC

The structure of OPEC consists of a Conference, committees, a board of governors, a secretariat, a secretary general and an OPEC economic commission.

Supreme body of OPEC - Conference ministers of states included in the organization also applies Board of Directors, in which each country is represented by one delegate. As a rule, it attracts the closest attention not only from the press, but also from key players in the global oil market.

The conference determines the main directions of OPEC's policies, ways and means of their practical implementation and makes decisions on reports and recommendations submitted by the Board of Governors, as well as on the budget. It instructs the Council to prepare reports and recommendations on any issues of interest to the organization. The Conference is formed by the Board of Governors itself (one representative per country, as a rule, these are the ministers of oil, extractive industries or energy). She also elects the president and appoints the general secretary of the organization.

Secretary General is the highest official of the Organization, plenipotentiary representative of OPEC and head of the Secretariat. He organizes and directs the work of the Organization. The structure of the OPEC secretariat includes three departments. Secretary General (since 2007) - Abdullah Salem al-Badri.

OPEC Economic Commission is concerned with promoting stability in international oil markets at fair price levels so that oil can maintain its importance as a primary global energy source in accordance with the objectives of OPEC, closely monitors changes in energy markets and keeps the Conference informed of these changes.

Interministerial Committee on monitoring was founded in March 1982 at the 63rd (extraordinary) meeting of the conference. The Committee monitors (annually statistics) the situation and proposes actions to the conference to solve relevant problems.

OPEC Secretariat functions as headquarters. He is responsible for carrying out the executive functions of the organization in accordance with the provisions of the OPEC Charter and the orders of the Board of Governors.

Fund international development OPEC

In 1976, OPEC established the OPEC Fund for International Development (headquartered in Vienna, originally called the OPEC Special Fund). It is a multilateral development financial institution that promotes cooperation between OPEC member states and other developing countries. The Fund's assistance can be used by international financial institutions providing assistance to developing countries, and by all non-OPEC developing countries. The OPEC Fund provides loans on concessional terms mainly of three types: for projects, programs and balance of payments support. The Fund's financial resources are generated from voluntary contributions from member states and profits generated through the Fund's lending and investment operations.

Its price value is the arithmetic average of spot prices for types of oil produced by the organization's participants.

The implementation of international commodity agreements regulating activities in certain market segments is carried out by International Commodity Organizations (ICOs) in the form of:

• International organizations;
• International Councils;
• International Advisory Committees;
• International Research Groups (IRGs).

All of these institutes are engaged in studying the state of world commodity markets, namely: the current relationship between supply and demand for specific raw materials, the dynamics of prices and conditions.

Currently there are International Councils for olive oil, tin, grain.

MIGs apply to rubber, lead and zinc, and copper.

There is an International Cotton Advisory Committee and a Tungsten Committee.

Iran has the second largest oil reserves after Saudi Arabia (18 billion tons) and occupies 5.5% of the global oil products trading market. Particular attention is paid to economic diversification through the development of precision engineering, automotive engineering, the rocket and space industry, and information technology.

A major oil exporter is Kuwait. Oil production provides 50% of Kuwait's GDP, its share in the country's exports is 90%. The country also has developed oil refining and petrochemicals, the production of building materials, fertilizers, the food industry, and pearl mining. Sea water is desalinated. Fertilizers constitute an important part of the country's exports.

Iraq has the second largest oil reserves in the world. Iraqi state-owned companies North Oil Company and South Oil Company have a monopoly on the development of local oil fields. Iraq's southern fields, managed by SOC, produce about 1.8 million barrels of oil per day, accounting for almost 90% of all oil produced in Iraq.

Thus, Most OPEC countries are deeply dependent on the income of their oil industry. Perhaps the only exception among the member countries of the organization is Indonesia, which receives significant income from tourism, timber, gas and other raw materials. For the remaining OPEC countries, the level of dependence on oil exports ranges from a low of 48% in the case of the United Arab Emirates to 97% in Nigeria.

During a crisis, the strategic path for countries dependent on oil exports is to diversify their economies through the development of the latest resource-saving technologies.

Vladimir Khomutko

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Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries

OPEC is the Russian abbreviation OPEC - The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which means Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

It was founded in 1960, and currently its active members are the following states:

• Saudi Arabia.
• UAE (United Arab Emirates).
• Kuwait.
• Qatar.
• Venezuela.
• Ecuador.
• Algeria.
• Iran.
• Iraq.
• Libya.
• Nigeria.

Since the oil exporting countries included in this cartel produce almost half of the world's oil, OPEC is able to significantly influence oil prices. This cartel accounts for 40 percent of global black gold exports. In 1962, OPEC was registered by the UN as a full-fledged intergovernmental organization.

The main goals of this organization:

• unification of oil policy and coordination of joint actions of member countries;
• organization of effective individual and collective defense their commercial interests;
• control of the stability of world oil prices;
• ensuring compliance with the following interests of the countries included in the cartel, namely:

1. maintaining a sustainable level of income;
2. efficient, cost-effective and regular supply of extracted products to consumers;
3. fair distribution of income received from investments in the oil industry;
4. environmental protection.

The founding countries of OPEC are full members of this organization. For other oil-producing countries to join this organization, they must submit applications, which are considered at the conference and can be either approved or rejected. To join OPEC, the application must be supported by at least three quarters of its active members.

OPEC structure

The highest body of this organization is the Conference of Ministers of the State Countries. In addition, day-to-day management is carried out by the Board of Directors, which is represented by one delegate from each state.

The conference outlines the main political directions of OPEC, as well as establishes ways to implement the cartel's policy and determines the means necessary for its practical implementation. In addition, this governing body reviews reports and recommendations provided by the Board of Directors, and also approves budgets necessary to implement policies. On behalf of the Conference, the Board of Directors prepares recommendation reports on all issues that, in one way or another, are of interest to OPEC.

The Board of Directors (Managers) is also appointed by the Conference. It usually includes the ministers of oil, oil industry or energy of OPEC member countries. Also at the Conference, a president is elected and a secretary general of the cartel is appointed.

The Secretariat reports to the Board of Directors. The Secretary General is the highest official of this organization and its official authorized representative. He also heads the OPEC Secretariat.

His main task is to organize and manage current work. Currently (since 2007) this post is occupied by Abdullah Salem al-Badri. The OPEC Secretariat consists of three departments.

The structure of this organization has a special economic commission, which is responsible for all issues related to the stability of world oil markets and compliance with fair price levels.

In order for OPEC oil to maintain its global strategic importance as a primary energy resource (the main task of OPEC), this commission constantly monitors all changes occurring in world energy markets and regularly brings news to the Conference about their nature and possible causes.

Since its founding (1960), OPEC's main task has been to develop and subsequently present a unified position of all its member countries in order to limit the influence of the world's largest oil corporations on the market.

However, in reality, the organization was not able to change the balance of power in this market until 1973. Significant changes to this arrangement were made by the sudden outbreak of an armed conflict in 1973, in which, on the one hand, Syria and Egypt participated, and on the other, Israel.

The active support of the United States allowed Israel to quickly regain its lost territories, as a result of which the parties signed an agreement to cease hostilities in November.

In October of the same 1973, the OPEC countries opposed the policy pursued by the United States and imposed an embargo on the sale of oil to this country, while simultaneously raising selling prices for oil by 70 percent for those Western European countries that acted as allies of the United States.

In one piece, this news raised the price of a barrel of black gold from 3 US dollars to 5.11. In January 1974, the organization further increased the price to 11.65 US dollars per barrel. All these events occurred at a time when 85 percent of Americans could not imagine themselves without a personal car.

Despite the stringent measures introduced by President Nixon to limit the use of energy resources, the domestic economic situation has sharply deteriorated. There is a serious recession in the West economic development. At the peak of this crisis, a gallon of gasoline in the United States began to cost $1.2 instead of 30 cents.

Wall Street reacted immediately to this news. On the one hand, the wave of super profits sharply raised the prices of shares of oil producing companies, and on the other, all other shares fell in price by the end of 1973 by an average of 15 percent.

Index Dow Jones and during this time period it fell from 962 to 822 points. Despite the fact that the embargo against the United States was lifted in March 1974, the consequences of this OPEC decision were not ironed out for a long time. The Dow Jones fell over the next two years, falling 45 percent between 1973 and December 1974, from 1,051 to 577.

In spite of the crisis of the Western economy, oil revenues of the main Arab oil-producing states at the same time grew at a very rapid pace.

For example, Saudi Arabia increased its profits from 4 billion 350 million to 36 billion dollars. For Kuwait, this figure jumped from 1.7 billion to 9.2, and in Iraq - from 1.8 to 23.6 billion US dollars.

Huge profits from the sale of black gold led to the fact that in 1976 OPEC created within its structure the Fund for International Development, which was a powerful financial institution whose purpose was to finance further development industry.

The headquarters of this Fund was established in Vienna (the same as the headquarters of OPEC). The main task of this Fund was to organize all possible assistance to ensure cooperation between OPEC countries and other developing countries.

The OPEC Fund issues loans on preferential terms, and these loans are divided into three types:

• for the implementation of OPEC-approved projects;
• to implement government programs for the development of the oil industry;
• to maintain the balance of payments.

The material resources managed by the Fund consist of contributions voluntarily made by member states of the organization, as well as profits received as a result of the investment and lending activities of the Fund itself.

The end of the 70s of the last century was marked by a reduction in global consumption of petroleum products, and there were several reasons for this.

Firstly, countries that are not members of OPEC have become more active in the world oil market.

Secondly, energy consumption was greatly affected by economic recession in Western countries.

Thirdly, efforts to reduce energy consumption have begun to bear fruit.

It got to the point that the United States, extremely concerned about the high activity Soviet Union in this region (especially after Soviet troops entered Afghanistan), in order to avoid possible economic shocks in oil-producing countries, threatened to use military force if the situation with oil supplies repeats. All this led to a gradual decline in oil prices.

Despite all the measures taken, 1978 was the year of the second oil crisis, the main reasons for which were the revolution in Iran and the powerful political resonance caused by the Israeli-Egyptian agreements reached at Camp David. In 1981, the cost of a barrel reached $40.

The weakness of OPEC became most fully visible in the early 80s of the twentieth century, when the full-scale development of new deposits of black gold in countries outside the cartel, as well as the widespread introduction of energy-saving technologies and the general stagnation of the world economy sharply reduced the demand for this raw material in the most industrially developed countries. The result is an almost two-fold drop in oil prices.

Over the next five years, everything was calm on the market, and the oil price gradually decreased.

Everything changed in December 1985, when oil production by OPEC countries increased sharply (to 18 million barrels per day). This was the beginning of a real price war, which was provoked by Saudi Arabia.

As a result of this process, oil prices fell by more than half in just a few months - from 27 US dollars per barrel to 12.

The next oil crisis began in 1990.

In August of this year, Iraq attacked Kuwait, which led to a sharp jump in oil prices - from 19 dollars in July to 36 dollars in October. It is worth saying that then oil prices returned to their previous level, even before the United States launched the military operation Desert Storm, which led to the defeat of Iraq and ended with the economic blockade of this state.

Despite the fact that in most OPEC member countries there was a constant overproduction of oil, and despite the fact that competition from countries outside the cartel in the oil market increased significantly, oil prices were quite stable during the 90s (compared to sharp fluctuations of the eighties).

Another drop in the cost of a barrel began at the very end of 1997, which led to the largest global oil crisis in history in 1998.

Many experts blame OPEC for this crisis, which in November 1997, at its conference in Jakarta, decided to increase the level of oil production, as a result of which the organization seemed to export additional oil volumes, and oil prices fell sharply. However, in defense of OPEC, it is worth saying that the joint efforts of this organization and non-member oil-producing states, undertaken in 1998, made it possible to prevent a further collapse in world prices. If not for these measures, many analysts agree that black gold could have fallen in price to 6-7 dollars per barrel.

The crisis, which began at the end of 2014 and continues to this day, forced OPEC to once again sit down at the negotiating table with other oil-producing powers. The decision taken by this organization to limit oil exports in 2016, which was carried over to 2017, and the reduction in production volumes had a beneficial effect on oil prices, although it is too early to talk about the final stabilization of the energy market.

OPEC translated from English is the organization of oil exporting countries. The purpose of creating OPEC was and is to control oil production quotas and prices.

OPEC was created in September 1960 in Baghdad. The list of members changes periodically during the existence of the organization and as of 2018 (July) it includes 14 countries.

The initiators of the creation were 5 countries: Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. These countries were later joined by Qatar (1961), Indonesia (1962), Libya (1962), United Arab Emirates (1967), Algeria (1969), Nigeria (1971), Ecuador (1973), Gabon (1975) year), Angola (2007) and Equatorial Guinea (2017).

As of today (February 2018), OPEC includes 14 countries:

1. Algeria
2. Angola
3. Venezuela
4. Gabon
5. Kuwait
6. Qatar
7. Libya
8. United Arab Emirates
9. Nigeria
10. Saudi Arabia
11. Equatorial Guinea
12. Ecuador

Russia is not a member of OPEC.

Countries included in the organization control 40% of all oil production on earth, that’s 2/3. The leader in oil production in the world is Russia, but it is not part of OPEC and cannot control the price of oil. Russia is an energy-dependent country. The level of economic development and well-being of Russians depends on its sale. Therefore, in order not to depend on oil prices on the world market, Russia should develop other sectors of the economy.

So, several times a year the ministers of OPEC countries gather for meetings. They assess the state of the world oil market and predict the price. Depending on this, decisions are made to reduce or increase oil production.

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OPEC - what is it? Decoding, definition, translation

OPEC is an international cartel of countries that produce and export oil., created with the goal of coordinating the volume of its production and thus influencing its price. The abbreviation OPEC is a Russian transcription of the English abbreviation OPEC, the decoding of which is as follows: Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which translated into Russian means “organization of oil exporting countries.”

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries

OPEC includes 12 countries that are lucky with oil reserves. Here list of OPEC member countries: UAE, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Angola, Qatar, Libya, Algeria, Nigeria, Ecuador and Venezuela. Russia is not a member of OPEC for historical reasons: the organization was founded in 1960, when the USSR was not yet a key player in the oil market. Today Russia has a difficult relationship with OPEC, although our country is an “observer” in this organization.

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OPEC translated from English is the organization of oil exporting countries. The purpose of creating OPEC was and is to control oil production quotas and prices. OPEC was created in September 1960 in Baghdad. The list of members changes periodically during the existence of the organization and as of 2018 (July) it includes 14 countries.

The initiators of the creation were 5 countries: Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. These countries were later joined by Qatar (1961), Indonesia (1962), Libya (1962), United Arab Emirates (1967), Algeria (1969), Nigeria (1971), Ecuador (1973), Gabon (1975) year), Angola (2007) and Equatorial Guinea (2017).

As of today (February 2018), OPEC includes 14 countries:

1. Algeria
2. Angola
3. Venezuela
4. Gabon
5. Kuwait
6. Qatar
7. Libya
8. United Arab Emirates
9. Nigeria
10. Saudi Arabia
11. Equatorial Guinea
12. Ecuador

Russia is not a member of OPEC.

Countries included in the organization control 40% of all oil production on earth, that’s 2/3. The leader in oil production in the world is Russia, but it is not part of OPEC and cannot control the price of oil. Russia is an energy-dependent country. The level of economic development and well-being of Russians depends on its sale. Therefore, in order not to depend on oil prices on the world market, Russia should develop other sectors of the economy.

So, several times a year the ministers of OPEC countries gather for meetings. They assess the state of the world oil market and predict the price. Depending on this, decisions are made to reduce or increase oil production.

Trusteeship countries

The abbreviation OPEC stands for "Association of Petroleum Exporting Countries". The main goal of the organization was to regulate prices for black gold on the world market. The need to create such an organization was obvious. In the middle of the 20th century, oil prices began to fall due to market glut. The Middle East sold the most oil. It was there that the richest deposits of black gold were discovered.

In order to pursue a policy to maintain oil prices on a global scale, it was necessary to force oil-producing countries to reduce the rate of its production. This was the only way to remove excess hydrocarbons from the world market and raise prices. OPEC was created to solve this problem.

List of countries that are members of OPEC

Today, 14 countries take part in the organization’s work. Consultations between representatives of the organization are held twice a year at OPEC headquarters in Vienna. At such meetings, decisions are made to increase or decrease oil production quotas for individual countries or the entire OPEC.

Venezuela is considered the founder of OPEC, although this country is not a leader in oil production. The palm in terms of volumes belongs to Saudi Arabia, followed by Iran and Iraq. In total, OPEC controls about half of the world's black gold exports. In almost all member countries of the organization, the oil industry is the leading industry in the economy. Therefore, the decline in world oil prices causes a strong blow to the income of OPEC members.

African countries that are part of OPEC

Of the 54 African states, only 6 are members of OPEC:

Most of the “African” OPEC participants joined the organization in the 1960-1970s. At that time, many African states freed themselves from the colonial rule of European countries and gained independence. The economy of these countries was focused mainly on the extraction of minerals and their subsequent export abroad. African countries are characterized by high populations, but also high percent poverty. To cover the costs of social programs, the governments of these countries are forced to produce a lot of crude oil. In order to withstand competition from European and American oil-producing transnational corporations, African countries joined OPEC.

Asian countries included in OPEC

Political instability in the Middle East predetermined the entry of Iran, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Qatar, United Nations United Arab Emirates. The organization's Asian member countries are characterized by low population density and huge foreign investment. Oil revenues are so enormous that Iran and Iraq paid for their military expenses in the 1980s by selling oil. Moreover, these countries fought against each other.

Today, political instability in the Middle East threatens not only the region itself, but also threatens world oil prices. It's going on in Iraq and Libya Civil War. The lifting of sanctions from Iran threatens to increase oil production in this country, despite the obvious exceeding of the OPEC oil production quota.

Latin American countries that are members of OPEC

Only two Latin American countries are members of OPEC - Venezuela and Ecuador. Despite the fact that Venezuela is the country that initiated the founding of OPEC, the state itself is politically unstable. Recently (in 2017), a wave of anti-government protests swept across Venezuela related to the ill-conceived economic policy government. Behind Lately The country's public debt has increased significantly. For some time, the country kept afloat due to high oil prices. But as prices fell, the Venezuelan economy also collapsed.

Non-OPEC oil exporting countries

Recently, OPEC has lost its leverage over its members. This situation is largely due to the fact that several oil importing countries that are not members of OPEC have appeared on the world market.

First of all this:

Despite the fact that Russia is not a member of OPEC, it is a permanent observer in the organization. An increase in oil production by non-OPEC countries leads to a decrease in the price of oil on the world market. However, OPEC cannot influence them, since even members of the organization do not always comply with agreements and exceed permissible quotas.

www.neftegaz-expo.ru

general information

OPEC countries meeting

Which states are included?

Oil production in Iran

• tourism;
• timber extraction;
• gas sales;
• sale of other raw materials.

Organization policy

Meeting of OPEC member countries

Attempts to resolve the situation

Falling oil prices

Price policy

Extraordinary meeting

OPEC meeting in Vienna

Finally

Countries that are part of OPEC

Last September, OPEC celebrated its anniversary. It was created in 1960. Today, OPEC countries occupy a leading position in the field of economic development.

general information

OPEC translated from English “OPEC” - “Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries”. This international organization, created to control the volume of sales of crude oil and set the price for it.

By the time OPEC was created, there was a significant surplus of black gold in the oil market. The appearance of excess oil is explained by the rapid development of its vast deposits. The main supplier of oil was the Middle East. In the mid-50s of the twentieth century, the USSR entered the oil market. The volume of black gold production in our country has doubled.

The result of this was the emergence of serious competition in the market. Against this background, oil prices fell significantly. This contributed to the creation of OPEC. 55 years ago, this organization pursued the goal of maintaining an adequate level of oil prices.

OPEC countries meeting

Which states are included?

Today this organization includes 12 powers. These include states in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

Russia is not a member of OPEC. Characterizing the powers that are part of this organization is not an easy matter. Only one thing can be said with confidence: just like 55 years ago, today the countries on the list are united by oil policy.

The initiator of the creation of this organization was Venezuela. Initially, the list included it, as well as the leading oil exporting states. After this, the list was replenished with Qatar and Indonesia. Libya was included in the list not during the time of Colonel Gaddafi, as many people think, but under King Idris, in 1962. The Emirates entered the list only in 1967.

In the period 1969-1973. the list was supplemented by such members as Algeria, Nigeria and Ecuador. In 1975, Gabon joined the list. In 2007, Angola joined the list. It is not known for certain whether OPEC will be added to the list in the near future.

Countries that are part of OPEC

What are countries?

The states that are part of this organization in 2018 produce only 44% of the world's oil production. But these countries have a huge influence on the black gold market. This is explained by the fact that the states that are part of this organization own 77% of all proven oil reserves throughout the world.

Saudi Arabia's economy is based on oil exports. Today, this black gold exporting state has 25% of oil reserves. Thanks to the export of black gold, the country receives 90% of its income. The GDP of this largest exporting state is 45 percent.

The second place in gold production is given to Iran. Today this state, a major oil exporter, occupies 5.5% of the world market. Kuwait should be considered an equally large exporter. The extraction of black gold brings the country 90% of its profits.

Oil production in Iran

Until 2011, Libya occupied an enviable place in oil production. Today the situation in this once richest state can be called not just difficult, but critical.

Iraq has the third largest oil reserves. The southern deposits of this country can produce up to 1.8 million black gold in just one day.

It can be concluded that most of the states that are members of OPEC are dependent on the profits that their oil industry brings. The only exception among these 12 states is Indonesia. This country also receives income from such industries as:

• tourism;
• timber extraction;
• gas sales;
• sale of other raw materials.

Indonesia as part of OPEC countries

For other powers that are part of OPEC, the percentage of dependence on the sale of black gold can range from 48 to 97 indicators.

When they come difficult times, then states with rich oil reserves have only one option - to diversify their economies as soon as possible. This happens due to the development of new technologies that help save resources.

Organization policy

In addition to the goal of unifying and coordinating oil policy, the organization has an equally priority task - to stimulate economical and regular supplies of goods by members to those states that are consumers. Another important goal is to achieve a fair return on capital. This is relevant for those who actively invest in industry.

The main governing bodies of OPEC include:

The conference is the highest body of this organization. The highest position should be considered the position of Secretary General.

Meetings between energy ministers and black gold specialists take place twice a year. The main purpose of the meeting is to assess the state of the international oil market. Another priority is to develop a clear plan to stabilize the situation. The third purpose of the meeting is to forecast the situation.

Meeting of OPEC member countries

The organization’s forecast can be judged by the situation on the black gold market last year. Representatives of the member countries of this organization argued that prices would be maintained at $40-50 per barrel. At the same time, representatives of these states did not rule out that prices could rise to $60. This could only happen if China’s economy grew intensively.

Judging by latest information, in the plans of the leadership of this organization there is no desire to reduce the amount of oil products produced. Also, OPEC has no plans to interfere in the activities of international markets. According to the organization's management, it is necessary to give the international market a chance to regulate itself.

Today, oil prices are close to a critical point. But the market situation is such that prices can either rapidly fall or rise.

Attempts to resolve the situation

Falling oil prices

After the start of another economic crisis that gripped the whole world, OPEC countries decided to meet in December 2015. Before this, 12 states met in June 2015, when there was a record drop in black gold futures. Then the size of the fall was catastrophic - up to 25 percent.

Judging by the forecast given by the organization’s experts at the end of 2015, the crisis will not affect only Qatar. In 2016, the price of Brent oil was about $60 per barrel.

Price policy

Today the situation for the OPEC participants themselves is as follows:

1. Iran - the price that ensures a deficit-free state budget is $87 (the share in the organization is 8.4%).
2. Iraq - $81 (share in the organization - 13%).
3. Kuwait - $67 (share in the organization - 8.7%).
4. Saudi Arabia - $106 (share in the organization - 32%).
5. UAE - $73 (share in the organization - 9.2%).
6. Venezuela - $125 (share in the organization - 7.8%).

According to some reports, at an informal meeting held in December 2015, Venezuela made a proposal to reduce current oil production to 5 percent. This information has not yet been confirmed.

Saudi Arabian Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi

The situation within the organization itself can be called critical. A year of significantly lower prices for black gold has hit the OPEC countries hard in the pocket. According to some estimates, the total income of member states could drop to $550 billion per year. The previous five-year plan showed much higher indicators. Then the annual income of these countries is 1 trillion. US dollars.

Extraordinary meeting

According to the Minister of Oil Industry of Iran, the existing problem can only be solved in the long term.

In February 2016, a decision was made to hold another meeting. The initiative was taken by six OPEC members:

The Russian Federation and Oman were also supposed to take part in the discussion. The objective of the extraordinary meeting was to conclude an agreement that would suit all participants of the 2016 meeting.

OPEC meeting in Vienna

One of the largest oil exporters, Saudi Arabia, did not hide the fact that it was not going to discuss lowering production with other OPEC members and “observers.” Iran also plans to significantly increase its production volumes. Today this state declares that its plans are to increase the volume to 500 thousand barrels/day.

On November 30, 2017, a new meeting of the member countries of the organization was held. Unfortunately, it was again impossible to accept the agreement. According to experts, the situation with oil prices in 2017 and 2018 will not stabilize.

Finally

OPEC headquarters building in Vienna

In 2018, members of the organization will adhere to the traditional course. Presumably, some restrictions are planned. But the hypothetical “sanctions” will most likely be symbolic. This is because countries will not comply with the proposed restrictions.

Trusteeship countries 2018 list

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and Non-Cartel Countries (OPEC+) has concluded that the decision to extend the deal to reduce oil production in 2018 must be left unchanged. This was reported by TASS with reference to Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak, who on Sunday took part in a meeting of the OPEC+ monitoring committee in the Omani capital Muscat.

“The main conclusion of today’s meeting: we once again confirm the need for and commitment to the agreements that were reached on November 29–30 for the entire period of 2018,” said the head of the Russian department.

He explained the decision taken by the ministers by the fact that the market has not yet reached a balance between demand and supply of oil. Giving forecasts for the year, Novak said that Russia is optimistic about the degree to which participants will implement the OPEC+ deal, which was 107% implemented in the previous year. The minister also added that the deal is effective and brings results.

Novak pointed out that average oil prices in 2017 were 30% higher than the year before. After this fall, experts recorded an increase in investment in the industry by 6%. Also last year, according to the head of the Russian energy department, there was an increase in oil demand by 1.5 million barrels. per day - this turned out to be higher than predicted.

Before the start of the negotiations, Novak told reporters that oil prices are not the only factor in the decision of OPEC+ member countries on a possible withdrawal from the agreement to reduce production.

“The price factor is not the only factor when you need to start exiting a deal. We will look at the market situation. We don't want any individual indicators as indicators. There must be a complete recovery of the market,” he answered the relevant question.