It is an intergovernmental organization of 13 countries founded on 14th September 1960 in Baghdad by first five members including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iran, Iraq and Venezuela. As of January 2020, Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has 13 member countries seven in Africa, five in the Middle East and one in South America.
Member countries who have joined Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) are United Arab Emirates, Libya, Ecuador, Nigeria, Angola, Gabon, the Republic of Congo and Equatorial Guinea. As of 2018, the 13 participant countries accounted for a projected 44% of worldwide oil production and 81.5% of world proven oil reserve. In the 2nd quarter of 2020, the demand for Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) oil has fallen to 30 years low.
The organization mission is to guarantee price steadiness of oil markets and unify and coordinates the petroleum policies of its member countries, the regular and economical supply of oil to the consumer, sound revenue to producers and reasonable profit on capital for those capitalizing in the petroleum industry. The organization is also an essential supplier of statistics about the international oil market.
Former Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) members are Qatar, Indonesia and Ecuador. On 1st January 2019, Qatar left the organization to focus on the production of natural gas which is a major world exporter in the usage of liquefied natural gas. The Ecuador Ministry of Energy and Non-Renewable Natural Resources announced on 2nd January 2020 to the left the organization.
In October 2019, Saudi Arabia invited Brazil to join the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). In an interview in New York, Brazil, President Petrobras said that being a participant of OPEC is not a preference currently. Sudan officially submitted a request to join in October 2015, but it is not yet a member.
Members of OPEC strongly define the organization as a modest dynamism for oil market stabilization rather than an influential anti-competitive lobby. Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has main three goals, reduce oil price volatility, minimize shortages and surplus and keep oil prices stable. Its primary objective is to keep oil prices steady by organizing its member countries through quotas. This way, the OPEC will be capable of having boundless power over the costs of the world oil market.
Its second primary objective is to reduce the oil price volatility in the confidence of creating the production and supply as cost-effective as possible for the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) members. It also aids to stave off rivalry from the rising American fracking industry as well as from non-OPEC affiliated countries.
The third main objective of OPEC is to regulate the supply and demand of oil to fight shortages and surpluses, which in turn can support to moderate the instability of oil prices on the worldwide market.