Opec

They formed the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC. Since the OPEC was instated to protect the interests of oil producers, it could be seen as an example of regional integration. The OPEC is widely considered, throughout the world, as a cartel. This would be an intellectual misconception. The concept of cartel would consider oligarchies limiting competition and monopolies increasing prices. Oppositely, many international oil producers are not members of the OPEC. These non-members saw a fourfold increase in the oil prices, during the 1973 oil embargo. In A history of the modern Middle East, William L. Cleveland and Martin Bunton stated that the immediate objective of the OPEC was “to utilize the collective bargaining power of its member states to pressure the Western oil companies to increase oil prices.”. However, the birth of the OPEC did not occur, overnight. In 1947, the Venezuelan and Iranian delegations held talks in Washington, to coordinate their oil policies. In OPEC: Past and Present, Abdul Amir Q. Kubbah stated that the Arab league had a project of creating an “association of Arab oil-producing countries.”, since 1945. The first OPEC-type grouping occurred in 1953, when Iraqi and Saudi delegates joined forces. The agreement between these two states was the first to involve cooperation from both governments. The Arab League held a summit in Cairo, in 1959. During that summit, “views have been exchanged concerning the

The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) aims to coordinate and unify the petroleum policies of its Member Countries and ensure the

The Middle East is one of the birthplaces of human kind’s civilization. Since the Ancient Egypt, Sumer, the Arab Empire, Turkey Empire, or even to present day, the Middle East has always been a valuable strategic point for not only because of its geographic location but also it full of petroleum and nature gas. According the OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) that 66% of the global oil reserves are in the Middle East and only 6% in North America, this makes a lot of powerful countries want to share a pieces of the Middle East, Stephen mentions “Much of the world 's oil wealth exists along the Persian Gulf, with particularly large reserves in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait

Several oil-countries have been facing economic and political turbulence as a result of the crash in oil prices, and there is disagreement among OPEC as how to handle the situation. (Krauss) While this is happening, America’s oil production continues to rise, as it inches closer to becoming an energy superpower in production and consumption; and countries that depend on their oil exports face recession.

However, most of the oil imports to the U.S. come from Canada, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Venezuela, and Nigeria. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries or OPEC is part of where the Unites States imports their oil. OPEC countries only produce a small portion of American oil; the U.S. obtains most of its oil from Mexico and Canada. However, over the years Canadian oil production has risen while Mexico’s has fallen. It is obvious that it would be better to have a reliable, long-term supply of crude from Canada than rely on overseas suppliers, whether they are part of OPEC or not.

Short-term: Cleary OPEC policy is to maintain the price down to crumble down the America production especially because of the hydraulic fracking boom. Thus, its goal is to increase production maintaining the oil price low.

Why should we worry about OPEC? Why do we need to get away from foreign oil? OPEC controls the oil prices on the world market. They can raise oil prices to benefit their bottom line. Last November crude oil prices went up 48 cents because Nigerian militants attacked a pipeline affecting oil production (“Oil Prices Find Floor”, n.d). It 's hard on Americans when the oil prices rise and it would be even harder if our foreign oil producers decided to stop trade with us. Not only would we be in danger of not being able to satisfy our wants, but our basic needs such as driving to work could be in danger. That is why this issue is a current geopolitical challenge for the United States.

The United States imported 9,163,000 barrels of oil per day in 2010. Of that amount 4,885,000 barrels are imported from countries that belong to the OPEC oil cartel. (Petroleum Statistics) The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is an organization consisting of twelve countries that have formally agreed to fix prices and dictates sales rules involving the export of oil to non-member countries. In order to lessen our dependence on OPEC oil, the United States should begin drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in Alaska. The oil reserves in ANWR are estimated to contain more than twice as much oil as the state of Texas. (Energy) Drilling for these resources will help the United States by

Our world economy depends upon petroleum; petroleum, in fact, has shaped the modern world. It has dictated production technologies and methods. It has facilitated the emergence of a worldwide transportation network. It has allowed cites to grow and expand, and determined the spatial landscape of regions. Due to our great need for petroleum, the scope of OPEC¡¦s power surpasses our prowess as an economic superpower, considering OPEC regulates the output and the price of oil from their reserves.

The “OPEC tax” redistributed world income and unfortunately the result was crippling the poorer countries. This tax however established serious power in OPEC and they became the authority in the oil universe. However, Iran began to want a higher price on their oil and oppositely Saudi Arabia did not. The United States wanted to create stability but OPEC was not cooperative however they would continue trying to persuade them to make peace with consumer countries.

According to current estimates, more than 80% of the world's proven oil reserves are located in OPEC Member Countries, with the bulk of OPEC oil reserves in the Middle East, amounting to around 66% of the OPEC total (OPEC Share of World Crude Oil Reserves, 2014). Competition amongst the U.S. and the Middle East has never reached this level before. There is a constant tension between the two countries and refuse to collaborate in dividing the market share equally. Furthermore, as both nations refuse any bipartisan agreement, there is no limiting the production of oil. Each nation is looking to drive out competition by any means. What they don’t realize is if they cooperated and reached an agreement amongst the international community, oil will remain profitable just as it was a few years ago. Though, this is unlikely to happen any time soon, but will eventually cause Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries to take a drastic decision when their main source of capital plummets due to the current price of oil. Profits are no longer seen in the oil industry. The Price of oil has been selling at around $50-$60 per barrel, not enough to cover production cost. The United States is able to withstand any contraction within the oil sector, as their financial portfolio is diversified, not solely reliant on the price of

In October of 1973, OPEC announced that it would increase the price of oil by 70% by cutting production by 25%

oil is the world’s power leader fuel. The world now devours 85 million barrels of oil

Saudi Arabia has an economy that is largely dependent on oil, with the government maintaining the biggest control over the country 's significant economic activities. Saudi Arabia owns about 16% of the global oil reserves and is the number one exporter of oil (Saudi Arabia, 2013). In addition, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was instrumental in the formation of the OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) group, which initially comprised Iraq, Venezuela, Iran, Kuwait and Venezuela (Energy indicators, 2004). Currently, the petroleum industry constitutes about 80% of the country 's budgetary incomes; about 40% of the country 's GDP and 87% of Saudi 's export earnings. Agriculture, in addition to petroleum products, has been a major contributor to the kingdom’s economy since 1970s (Saudi Arabia, 2013). The country has been able to produce enough agricultural products for their consumption as well as surplus for exportation to the GCC member countries.

All percentages are rounded and approximated. Oil from tar sands and oil shale are not included because the high amount of energy inputs, water consumption, and waste production will likely hinder these sources of oil from being anything more than limited supplies. The nations most near and friendly to us, Mexico and Canada, have very limited reserves and are rapidly being depleted as we are. The remaining oil reserves are in nations in less friendly regions and the oil is in areas more difficult to extract. Although we hear about "discoveries," our future oil security is seriously at risk.