Gwen Elledge
Period 6
OPEC
SCHMOPEC
What’s So Great About the King
of Resources’ Leading Provider
What is OPEC
• “Organization of Petroleum Exporting Coutries”
• Regulates exporting of oil, oil products, and oil
pricing
• HQ in Vienna, Austria
• Produces 40% of whole world’s oil supply
• Wants high oil prices
• Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait,
Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE,
Venezuela
• Opened Sept. 10-14, 1960 in
Baghdad, Iraq
• Started in economic and
political changes
• “Seven Sisters” controlled Oil
Marked before
• Countries joining OPEC
control their own resources
(OPEC Policy)
• After starting company ten
countries joined
OPEC
History
1960s
OPEC History 1970s
• OPEC became well
known
• Countries took
control of oil
company and oil
pricing
• Oil prices went up drastically (1973)
• OPEC Fund for International Development
• Organization gained three members
•
•
•
•
Oil prices dropped badly
Small oil market shares fell
Oil revenue lowers badly
Reference Basket to help
price oil
• New environmental issues
become relevant
OPEC History
1980s
•
•
•
•
Prices became more stable
Recovery while post-Soviet Union settled
Economy and weather effected prices
Producers, consumers, OPEC, and Non-OPEC
coordinating affiliations
OPEC History
1990s
• OPEC’s pricing system made pricing
better (early 2000s)
• Markets increased prices to record levels
• Prices crashed after
OPEC
• Made a “comprehensive long-term
History
strategy”
2000s
• Help achieve stable markets,
environment, development.
USA vs. OPEC
•
•
•
•
•
Antitrust problems
USA accusing OPEC countries, limit oil
OPEC make oil supply go up continuously
Oil pricing issues
OPEC wanting high prices using to advantage,
USA depends on oil
US Dependency
• Country’s demand for oil increasing
• Persian Gulf biggest oil production
(65%)
• Happenings in OPEC countries effect
oil prices
• Most US oil from OPEC countries
• US economy relates to OPEC oil
prices
• Strategic Oil Revenue-oil supply for
emergencies
Oil Alternatives
• Tar Sands-sticky substance underground in sand
& rock
• Tar Sands-bad for environment
• Ethanol-oil made by corn
• Ethanol-would hurt our food supply
• Ethanol-97% of land would be corn if fuel was
only ethanol
• Both-industries lose more energy than make
Pollution
•Petroleum/oil
products poisonous
•Hydrocarbon
•Petroleum has
sulfur & nitrogen
tracings
•Petroleum/oil is one of the biggest
polluters
Problems with the US
• Oil dependency creating a disaster
• Not exactly looking for different fuel
resources
• Oil companies/companies invested in oil not
looking for alternatives-USA stuck in a rut
• Synthetic oil payments go in taxes-foreign oil
no taxes
• Foreign fuel in favor-not giving other sources
a chance
Religion vs. Oil
• Some OPEC countries are Muslim
• USA worried because of Muslim faith-just
seeing beliefs as a threat
• Some Muslims want to convert all countries-all
faiths need to work together-oil countries
• Oil products also in concern
Bibliography
• "Allah vs. the Price of Gas." HubPages. Web. 3 Mar.
2011. <http://hubpages.com/hub/Allah-vs-Gas>.
• Dye, Lee. US: Foreign Oil Dependency: Stuck Between
a Rock and a Hard Place. Web. 1 Mar. 2011.
• "The Oil Drum | Middle East OPEC Reserves
Revisited." The Oil Drum | Discussions about Energy
and Our Future. Web. 2 Mar. 2011.
<http://www.theoildrum.com/node/7149>.
• "OPEC : Brief History." OPEC : Home. Web. 16 Feb.
2011.
<http://www.opec.org/opec_web/en/about_us/24.h
tm>.
Bibliography
• "OPEC : Setting the Record Straight over Prices."
OPEC : Home. Web. 11 Mar. 2011.
<http://www.opec.org/opec_web/en/press_room/1
990.htm>.
• OPEC and Gas Prices Around the World. Web. 28 Feb.
2011.
• "Petroleum - Water, Effects, Environmental,
Disasters, Pollutants, United States, History, Causes,
Impact, EPA, Soil, Chemicals, Industrial, Liquid, Wells,
Toxic, World, Human, Power." Pollution Issues. Web.
23 Feb. 2011. <http://www.pollutionissues.com/NaPh/Petroleum.html>.