OPEC Outlines Its Statutory Mission: Coordinating Petroleum Policies and Stabilizing Oil Markets
Key Takeaways
- •OPEC's mission, per its Statute, is to coordinate and unify petroleum policies of member countries and stabilize oil markets.
- •The organization's stated goals include securing an efficient, economic, and regular oil supply to consumers, steady income for producers, and fair returns for industry investors.
- •OPEC was founded in 1960 at the Baghdad Conference by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela to gain greater control over petroleum resources and pricing.
- •OPEC's coordination role underpins its crude oil production-level decisions, which it frames as a market-stabilization tool benefiting both consumers and producers.
- •The cooperation framework has expanded beyond members through the OPEC+ alliance with Russia-led non-member producers, with Saudi Arabia traditionally holding significant influence.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has set out its mission in accordance with its Statute, stating that the organization's purpose is to coordinate and unify the petroleum policies of its Member Countries.
According to the mission statement, published on the organization's official website (opec.org), OPEC also seeks to ensure the stabilization of oil markets. The stated goals of this coordination and stabilization effort are threefold: to secure an efficient, economic and regular supply of petroleum to consumers, to provide a steady income to producers, and to deliver a fair return on capital for those investing in the petroleum industry.
OPEC is an intergovernmental organization whose Member Countries are oil-producing nations. Founded in 1960 at the Baghdad Conference by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela, the organization was established at a time when oil-producing countries sought greater control over their petroleum resources and pricing decisions, which were then largely dominated by international oil companies. Its Statute serves as the founding document governing the organization's objectives and operations. The mission statement reflects the organization's founding aim of acting as a forum for cooperation among petroleum-exporting countries on matters related to oil policy.
The coordination role described in the Statute has in practice underpinned OPEC's best-known function: decisions on crude oil production levels, which the organization frames as a tool for stabilizing markets in the interests of both consumers and producers. In recent years, this cooperative framework has extended beyond OPEC's own membership through the alliance with non-member producers led by Russia, commonly referred to as OPEC+. Saudi Arabia, the organization's largest producer, has traditionally held a influential role in its decision-making.
Source: OPEC – Our Mission
