The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is a permanent, intergovernmental organization of oil-exporting countries, established as a collective institution to coordinate and unify the petroleum policies of its member nations. It was created at the Baghdad Conference on September 10–14, 1960, by five founding members: Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela. The organization was formed to solve the problem of low oil prices and the dominance of Western multinational oil companies, known as the "Seven Sisters," which controlled Middle Eastern oil resources and limited the benefits to producing nations. OPEC's objective is to secure fair and stable prices for petroleum producers, ensure an efficient and regular supply to consuming nations, and provide a fair return on capital for investors.
OPEC works primarily by setting collective production quotas—limits on how much oil each member country can produce—to influence the global supply of crude oil and stabilize prices. The OPEC Conference, comprising all member states, meets at least twice a year to adopt resolutions and determine the general policy. A key related concept is OPEC+, a coalition formed in 2016 that includes the existing OPEC members and ten major non-OPEC oil-exporting nations, such as Russia and Kazakhstan, to coordinate production cuts and manage the market.
A recent change involves the ongoing process of unwinding voluntary production cuts, which began in April 2025. For instance, eight core OPEC+ members agreed to a production adjustment of 206,000 barrels per day for May 2026. However, this increase has been called "symbolic" by analysts due to significant supply disruptions caused by geopolitical conflict in the Middle East. The organization's headquarters moved from Geneva, Switzerland, to Vienna, Austria, on September 1, 1965.