What Is OPEC, and How Does It Operate?

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What Is OPEC, and How Does It Operate?

The group of oil-producing countries supplied more than 25 percent of the world’s oil before the war in Iran. Its members have influenced energy markets through the years.

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The Vienna headquarters of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, which was created in 1960 as a way to control oil policies and stabilize global markets.

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Christian Bruna/Getty Images

By

Emmett Lindner

April 28, 2026,

3:33 p.m. ET

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The OPEC oil cartel has long sought to control the price of oil by effectively controlling a big chunk of the world’s supply of crude. But its influence has been waning for years.

On Tuesday, it took another big hit when the United Arab Emirates said it would

leave OPEC

at the end of the week. OPEC countries supplied more than a quarter of the world’s oil before the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran began on Feb. 28; losing the Emirates would leave it around a little more than 20 percent.

Before the cartel was founded nearly 70 years ago, the world’s oil markets looked very different. Here’s how OPEC came to be, and how it has evolved.

What is OPEC?

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries was created in 1960 as a way to control oil prices and stabilize global markets. It currently has 12 members, including the Emirates, and Saudi Arabia is its de facto leader.

The other members are Algeria, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria and Venezuela. Together, the nations set production quotas, and can intervene during shocks by increasing or pulling back oil production.

OPEC country production

Number of million barrels per day each country produces

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration.

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