OPEC FACT SHEET

OPEC was set up to help unify and coordinate members' petroleum policies and to safeguard their interests. Among other activities, OPEC holds regular meetings of national oil ministers to discuss prices and, since the early 1980s, to set production quotas. OPEC also provides financial assistance to developing countries through its OPEC Fund for International Development (founded in 1976), and conducts research on such topics as energy finance, technology, and relevant economic issues.

Combined, the 11 current OPEC members accounted for 40.4 percent of total world oil supply (including crude oil, natural gas liquids, refinery gain, etc.) in 1997. OPEC's share of world oil supply had remained constant between 1993 and 1996 as non-OPEC oil supply had increased dramatically, especially in the North Sea, Latin America, and West Africa. However, OPEC oil production increased by about 1.6 million barrels per day (b/d) in 1997, out of total global oil supply growth of 2.3 million b/d, thus increasing its share of the world's oil supply by 1 percentage point. In 1998, most of OPEC's production increases are expected to come from Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Nigeria, and possibly Iraq, with other OPEC nations' production holding about steady or increasing only slightly.

OPEC Pricing
OPEC maintains a "basket" of seven crudes (Algeria's Saharan Blend, Indonesia's Minas, Nigeria's Bonny Light, Saudi Arabia's Arabian Light, Dubai, Venezuela's Tia Juana, and Mexico's Isthmus) which it uses for pricing purposes. In February 1998, the OPEC basket price averaged $13.45 per barrel, down nearly $1.00 from the January 1998 average price and down $3.39 from the December 1997 average price. The average OPEC basket price for the fourth quarter of 1997 averaged $18.29 per barrel, while the average OPEC basket price for 1997 was $18.68 per barrel, down $1.61 from the 1996 average price.

Recent Developments
On December 1, 1997, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) announced an increase in their crude oil production ceiling from 25.033 million barrels per day to 27.5 million barrels per day, an growth of just under 10 percent. (Click here for our analysis of this meeting.) The increase was allocated on a pro rata system where most country quotas were increased by the same percentage. Algeria received a slightly larger increase because it received a smaller increase the last time quotas were set. (Crude oil production quotas for individual OPEC member countries are included in the table at the top of this report.) However, OPEC crude oil production is not expected to increase by 10 percent since many countries are already producing at maximum capacity. OPEC also extended the tenure of Rilwanu Lukman as Secretary General of OPEC through 2000. OPEC's next ministerial meeting is expected to be held on June 24, 1998 in Vienna, Austria.

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OPEC's Home Page

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File last modified: March 18, 1998

Contact:

Douglas MacIntyre
dmacinty@eia.doe.gov
Phone: (202) 586-1831
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