In news- Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are in a spat over oil prices.
Key updates-
- Saudi Arabia has led a push in OPEC to raise output by some 2 million barrels per day from August to December 2021 but extend remaining cuts to the end of 2022.
- But the UAE has said that a cut in output beyond the initial deadline of April 2022 would be “unfair to the UAE”.
- Though OPEC’s sharp output cuts have kept prices from collapsing even further, pumping too much too soon could undermine the rebound in energy prices.
- Under a proposed OPEC Plus deal, the UAE would proportionally cut its oil production by 18 percent, while Saudi Arabia would cut its output by 5 percent.
- Meetings between the 13 members of OPEC proper and between the 23 members of OPEC Plus, have failed to reach a deal on oil output.
OPEC-
- The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is a permanent, intergovernmental Organization, created at the Baghdad Conference held in Iraq in 1960.
- The founding members are Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.
- It initially had its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland which was then moved to Vienna, Austria in 1965.
- The objective is to coordinate and unify petroleum policies among Member Countries in order to secure fair and stable prices for petroleum producers , the efficient, economic and regular supply of petroleum to consuming nations and a fair return on capital to those investing in the industry.
- Currently, the Organization has a total of 13 Member Countries– Algeria, Angola, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela.
- The year 2020 marked the 60th anniversary of the founding of OPEC.
Functions of OPEC-
- Review the status of the international oil market and the forecasts for the future in order to agree upon appropriate actions which will promote price stability in the oil market.
- Decisions about matching oil production to expected demand are taken at the meeting of the OPEC conference.
- Provides research and administrative support to the secretariat body that disseminates news and information to the world at large.
OPEC+
- In September 2016, Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed to cooperate in managing the price of oil, creating an informal alliance of OPEC and non-OPEC producers that was dubbed “OPEC+.”
Non-OPEC countries which are major oil producers are: Russia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Brunei, Equatorial Guinea, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mexico, Oman, Russia, Sudan, South Sudan, Brazil and Bolivia.
Source: Indian Express
