The National Oil Corporation ( NOC ; Arabic : المؤسسة الوطنية للنفط ) is the national oil company of Libya . It dominates Libya's oil industry, along with a number of smaller subsidiaries, which combined account for the vast majority of the country's oil output. It is led by Farhat Bengdara , appointed in July 2022, he is seen by many experts as the glue holding east and west together. Of NOC's subsidiaries, the largest oil producer is the Waha Oil Company (WOC), followed by the Arabian Gulf Oil Company (Agoco), Zueitina Oil Company (ZOC), and Sirte Oil Company (SOC).
158-585: Libya is a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and holds the largest proven oil reserves in Africa (followed by Nigeria and Algeria ), 41.5 Gbbl (6.60 × 10 ^ m) as of January 2007, up from 39.1 Gbbl (6.22 × 10 ^ m) in 2006. About 80% of Libya's proven oil reserves are located in the Sirte Basin Province, which accounts for 90% of
316-451: A feed stock to an ethylene plant with a capacity of 1.2 million tpy (tons per year). Its main products are ethylene (330,000 tpy), propylene (170,000 tpy), Mix C4 (130,000 tpy) and P Gasoline (335,000 tpy). NOC also has two polyethylene plants, ( HDPE and LLDPE ) each with a capacity of 160,000 mt/year. These plants produce various products which are mostly exported. In Brega there is another petrochemical complex using natural gas as
474-479: A day (mbpd) to the approximately 2 mbpd of cuts announced. In June 2003, the International Energy Agency (IEA) and OPEC held their first joint workshop on energy issues. They have continued to meet regularly since then, "to collectively better understand trends, analysis and viewpoints and advance market transparency and predictability." Widespread insurgency and sabotage occurred during
632-528: A divine duty with no consideration for political efficacy―their aim is transcendental and "holy terror" constitutes an end in itself. Hoffman's concept has since been taken up and developed by a number of other writers, including Walter Laquer, Steven Simon and Daniel Benjamen, and rebranded as the "New Terrorism". Arguably, the first organization to use modern terrorist techniques was the Irish Republican Brotherhood , founded in 1858 as
790-633: A doubling of its debt, reaching 100% of the Gross Domestic Product. Faced with increasing economic hardship (which ultimately contributed to the collapse of the Soviet bloc in 1989), the " free-riding " oil exporters that had previously failed to comply with OPEC agreements finally began to limit production to shore up prices, based on painstakingly negotiated national quotas that sought to balance oil-related and economic criteria since 1986. (Within their sovereign-controlled territories,
948-920: A dramatic end to the post-WWII economic boom . The 1973–1974 oil embargo had lasting effects on the United States and other industrialized nations, which established the International Energy Agency in response, as well as national emergency stockpiles designed to withstand months of future supply disruptions. Oil conservation efforts included lower speed limits on highways, smaller and more energy-efficient cars and appliances, year-round daylight saving time , reduced usage of heating and air-conditioning , better building insulation , increased support of mass transit , and greater emphasis on coal , natural gas , ethanol , nuclear and other alternative energy sources. These long-term efforts became effective enough that US oil consumption rose only 11 percent during 1980–2014, while real GDP rose 150 percent. But in
1106-473: A feedstock. In May 2005, Shell agreed to a final deal with NOC to develop Libyan oil and gas resources, including LNG export facilities. The deal came after lengthy negotiations on the terms of a March 2004 framework agreement. Reportedly, Shell is aiming to upgrade and expand Brega and possibly build a new LNG export facility as well at a cost of $ 105–$ 450 million. The plants in this complex are: Notes: 1. EIA 2007 (In mt/yr unless stated otherwise) Most of
1264-402: A joint drilling company with Saipem (an Eni subsidiary). This was accompanied by nationalization of ConocoPhillips 's Umm Farud field in 1970, British Petroleum's Sarir field in 1971 and Amoco 's Sahabir field in 1976. After commencement of the 1973 Arab-Israeli War , Saudi Arabia, Libya, and other Arab states proclaimed an embargo on oil exports to countries that supported Israel, primarily
1422-665: A member of OPEC since the organization's founding, but Iraqi production was not a part of OPEC quota agreements from 1998 to 2016, due to the country's daunting political difficulties. Lower demand triggered by the 1997–1998 Asian financial crisis saw the price of oil fall back to 1986 levels. After oil slumped to around US$ 10/bbl, joint diplomacy achieved a gradual slowing of oil production by OPEC, Mexico and Norway. After prices slumped again in Nov. 2001, OPEC, Norway, Mexico, Russia, Oman and Angola agreed to cut production on 1 January 2002 for 6 months. OPEC contributed 1.5 million barrels
1580-547: A military response and welcomed it as a provocation that would result in more Muslims fight the United States. Some commentators believe that the resulting anger and suspicion directed toward innocent Muslims living in Western countries and the indignities inflicted upon them by security forces and the general public also contributes to radicalization of new recruits. Despite criticism that the Iraqi government had no involvement with
1738-446: A mix of natural gas and oilfield projects. Previously, natural gas exports were limited to LNG. NOC hopes to increase total oil production from 1.80 mmbd in 2006 to 2 mmbd by 2008. Foreign direct investment into the oil sector is likely, which is attractive due to its low cost of oil recovery, high oil quality, and proximity to European markets. In November 2005, Repsol YPF discovered a significant oil deposit of light, sweet crude in
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#17327981341611896-472: A network of onshore oil, gas and product pipelines, crude oil export facilities and a gas pipeline . The Western Libyan Gas Project (WLGP) is a 50-50 joint venture between NOC and Eni, which came online in October 2004. Since then, WLGP has expanded to Italy and beyond. Currently, 280 × 10 ^ cu ft (7.9 × 10 m) per year of natural gas is exported from a processing facility at Melitah , on
2054-537: A new theory of the state in which all productive units and workplaces were to be directly governed by popular congresses. As part of his vision, the National Oil Corporation was established on 12 November 1970. The company's first chairman was Salem Mohammed Amesh, who was later replaced by Omar Muntasir. Under its articles of incorporation, NOC was legally restricted to Production sharing agreements (PSA) with international oil companies (IOCs) where
2212-762: A number of bilateral and multilateral channels." The Fund became an official international development agency in May 1980 and was renamed the OPEC Fund for International Development , with Permanent Observer status at the United Nations. In 2020, the institution ceased using the abbreviation OFID. On 21 December 1975, Saudi Arabia's Ahmed Zaki Yamani , Iran's Jamshid Amuzegar , and the other OPEC oil ministers were taken hostage at their semi-annual conference in Vienna, Austria . The attack, which killed three non-ministers,
2370-563: A particular cause and many of the most deadly operations in recent times, such as the September 11 attacks , the London underground bombing , 2008 Mumbai attacks and the 2002 Bali bombings were planned and carried out by a close clique, composed of close friends, family members and other strong social networks. These groups benefited from the free flow of information and efficient telecommunications to succeed where others had failed. Over
2528-806: A record US$ 147/bbl in July and then plunged back to US$ 32/bbl in December, during the worst global recession since World War II . OPEC's annual oil export revenue also set a new record in 2008, estimated around US$ 1 trillion, and reached similar annual rates in 2011–2014 (along with extensive petrodollar recycling activity) before plunging again. By the time of the 2011 Libyan Civil War and Arab Spring , OPEC started issuing explicit statements to counter "excessive speculation" in oil futures markets , blaming financial speculators for increasing volatility beyond market fundamentals. In May 2008, Indonesia announced that it would leave OPEC when its membership expired at
2686-510: A record volume of worldwide oil inventories, and a collapse in oil prices that continued into early 2016. In spite of global oversupply, on 27 November 2014 in Vienna, Saudi oil minister Ali Al-Naimi blocked appeals from poorer OPEC members for production cuts to support prices. Naimi argued that the oil market should be left to rebalance itself competitively at lower price levels, strategically rebuilding OPEC's long-term market share by ending
2844-498: A religious agenda. Before 2000, it was nationalist separatist terrorist organizations such as the IRA and Chechen rebels who were behind the most attacks. The number of incidents from nationalist separatist groups has remained relatively stable in the years since while religious extremism has grown. The prevalence of Islamist groups in Iraq , Afghanistan , Pakistan , Nigeria and Syria is
3002-554: A revolutionary Irish nationalist group that carried out attacks in England. The group initiated the Fenian dynamite campaign in 1881, one of the first modern terror campaigns. Instead of earlier forms of terrorism based on political assassination, this campaign used timed explosives with the express aim of sowing fear in the very heart of metropolitan Britain , in order to achieve political gains. Another early terrorist-type group
3160-402: A single, all-encompassing, legally binding, criminal law definition of terrorism. These difficulties arise from the fact that the term "terrorism" is politically and emotionally charged. The international community has instead adopted a series of sectoral conventions that define and criminalize various types of terrorist activities. Counterterrorism analyst Bruce Hoffman has noted that it
3318-487: A slowdown in economic growth. At the same time, US oil production nearly doubled from 2008 levels and approached the world-leading " swing producer " volumes of Saudi Arabia and Russia, due to the substantial long-term improvement and spread of shale " fracking " technology in response to the years of record oil prices. These developments led in turn to a plunge in US oil import requirements (moving closer to energy independence ),
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#17327981341613476-522: A source of hope. OPEC's international aid activities date from well before the 1973–1974 oil price surge. For example, the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development has operated since 1961. In the years after 1973, as an example of so-called " checkbook diplomacy ", certain Arab nations have been among the world's largest providers of foreign aid, and OPEC added to its goals the selling of oil for
3634-613: A stance that reflects how the kingdom has adapted to the evolving economic needs within OPEC and the broader international community. Emphasizing the need for a balanced and fair global energy transition , he highlighted the importance of diversifying energy sources and noted significant investments in natural gas , petrochemicals , and renewables . These efforts support economic development in emerging countries and align with global climate objectives . Additionally, he addressed shifting energy security concerns, stating, "Energy security in
3792-412: A strategic tool to influence decision makers. By targeting densely populated public areas such as transportation hubs, airports, shopping centers, tourist attractions, and nightlife venues, terrorists aim to instill widespread insecurity, prompting policy changes through psychological manipulation and undermining confidence in security measures. The terms "terrorist" and "terrorism" originated during
3950-428: A substantial degree of worldwide competition. Moreover, because of an economic " prisoner's dilemma " that encourages each member nation individually to discount its price and exceed its production quota, widespread cheating within OPEC often erodes its ability to influence global oil prices through collective action . Political scientist Jeff Colgan has challenged that OPEC is a cartel, pointing to endemic cheating in
4108-437: A successful high-profile attack. The attacks prompted some criticism from domestic and international observers regarding perceived injustices in U.S. foreign policy that provoked the attacks, but the larger practical effect was that the United States government declared a War on Terror that resulted in substantial military engagements in several Muslim-majority countries. Various commentators have inferred that al-Qaeda expected
4266-692: A tactic because it can: Attacks on "collaborators" are used to intimidate people from cooperating with the state in order to undermine state control. This strategy was used in Ireland, in Kenya , in Algeria and in Cyprus during their independence struggles. Stated motives for the September 11 attacks included inspiring more fighters to join the cause of repelling the United States from Muslim countries with
4424-780: A textbook example of a cartel (a group whose members cooperate to reduce market competition ) but one whose consultations may be protected by the doctrine of state immunity under international law. Current OPEC members are Algeria, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, the Republic of the Congo, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela. Meanwhile, Angola, Ecuador, Indonesia, and Qatar are former OPEC members. A larger group called OPEC+ , consisting of OPEC members plus other oil-producing countries, formed in late 2016 to exert more control on
4582-472: A textbook example of a cartel that cooperates to reduce market competition, as in this definition from OECD 's Glossary of Industrial Organisation Economics and Competition Law : International commodity agreements covering products such as coffee, sugar, tin and more recently oil (OPEC: Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries) are examples of international cartels which have publicly entailed agreements between different national governments. While OPEC
4740-478: A universally accepted, legally binding definition. Title 18 of the United States Code defines terrorism as acts that are intended to intimidate or coerce civilians or government. The international community has been slow to formulate a universally agreed, legally binding definition of this crime, and has been unable to conclude a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism that incorporates
4898-439: Is 105). In November 2016, the group chairman, Mustafa Sanalla, announced the group is seeking to boost output to 900,000 barrels a day by the end of 2016 and about 1.1 million barrels next year. Oil and gas E&P is carried out by NOC subsidiaries and IOCs licensed by special participation and PSAs. These activities cover wide areas, both onshore and offshore, through Libya's territorial waters and continental shelf . NOC has
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5056-631: Is a cartel enabling the co-operation of leading oil-producing and oil-dependent countries in order to collectively influence the global oil market and maximize profit . It was founded on 14 September 1960, in Baghdad by the first five members which are Iran , Iraq , Kuwait , Saudi Arabia , and Venezuela . The organization, which currently comprises 12 member countries, accounted for an estimated 30 percent of global oil production . A 2022 report further details that OPEC member countries were responsible for approximately 38 percent of it. Additionally, it
5214-501: Is also sold on a term basis to foreign oil companies like Agip, OMV, Repsol YPF , Tupras, CEPSA, and Total; and small volumes to Asian and South African companies. With domestic consumption of 284,000 bbl/d (45,200 m/d) in 2006, Libya had estimated net exports (including all liquids) of 1.525 million bpd. The majority of Libyan oil exports are sold to European countries, such as Italy (495,000 bpd), Germany (253,000 bpd), Spain (113,000 bpd), and France (87,000 bpd). After
5372-645: Is at times cited as a textbook example of a cartel, various authoritative and academic sources provide a broader perspective on the organization's role. For instance, the US Energy Information Administration 's glossary explains OPEC as: An intergovernmental organization whose stated objective is to 'coordinate and unify the petroleum policies of member countries'. The Oxford Dictionary of Energy Science (2017) defines OPEC as: An organization set up in 1960 to coordinate petroleum policies among its member countries, initially with
5530-471: Is estimated that 79.5 percent of the world's proven oil reserves are located within OPEC nations, with the Middle East alone accounting for 67.2 percent of OPEC's total reserves. In a series of steps in the 1960s and 1970s, OPEC restructured the global system of oil production in favor of oil-producing states and away from an oligopoly of dominant Anglo-American oil firms (the " Seven Sisters "). In
5688-522: Is not only individual agencies within the same governmental apparatus that cannot agree on a single definition of terrorism; experts and other long-established scholars in the field are equally incapable of reaching a consensus. In 1992, terrorism studies scholar Alex P. Schmid proposed a simple definition to the United Nations Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) as "peacetime equivalents of war crimes", but it
5846-511: Is politically charged and over-simplified. The underlying historical assertions have received less critical attention. According to The Oxford Handbook on the History of Terrorism : Since the publication of Rapoport's article, it has become seemingly pre-requisite for standard works on terrorism to cite the three case studies and to reproduce uncritically its findings. In lieu of empirical research, authors tend to crudely paraphrase Rapoport and
6004-407: Is really the first illustration and at the same time the most concrete and most spectacular illustration of the importance of raw material prices for our countries, the vital need for the producing countries to operate the levers of price control, and lastly, the great possibilities of a union of raw material producing countries. This action should be viewed by the developing countries as an example and
6162-405: Is reviving in new and unusual forms". He is the first to propose that religious doctrines were more important than political rationales for some terrorist groups. Rapoport's work has since become the basis of the model of "New Terrorism" proposed by Bruce Hoffman and developed by other scholars. "New Terrorism" has had an unparalleled impact on policymaking. Critics have pointed out that the model
6320-598: Is the Saudi concern that overly expensive oil or unreliable supply will drive industrial nations to conserve energy and develop alternative fuels, curtailing the worldwide demand for oil and eventually leaving unneeded barrels in the ground. To this point, Saudi Oil Minister Yamani famously remarked in 1973: "The Stone Age didn't end because we ran out of stones." To elucidate Saudi Arabia's contemporary approach, in 2024, Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman articulated
6478-528: Is the supreme authority of the organisation, and consists of delegations normally headed by the oil ministers of member countries. The chief executive of the organisation is the OPEC secretary general . The conference ordinarily meets at the Vienna headquarters, at least twice a year and in additional extraordinary sessions when necessary. It generally operates on the principles of unanimity and "one member, one vote", with each country paying an equal membership fee into
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6636-563: Is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war against non-combatants (mostly civilians and neutral military personnel ). There are various different definitions of terrorism , with no universal agreement about it. Different definitions of terrorism emphasize its randomness , its aim to instill fear , and its broader impact beyond its immediate victims. Modern terrorism, evolving from earlier iterations, employs various tactics to pursue political goals, often leveraging fear as
6794-480: Is usually accompanied by anti-government sentiments. Adherents of Christian Identity are not connected with specific Christian denominations , and they believe that whites of European descent can be traced back to the " Lost Tribes of Israel ". Adherents have committed hate crimes , bombings and other acts of terrorism, including the Centennial Olympic Park bombing . Its influence ranges from
6952-667: The 2011 Libyan civil war , Oil Minister Shukri Ghanem defected and fled to Tunisia . In September 2011, the National Transitional Council named Nuri Berruien as chairman of the NOC during the transitional period . After a period when NOC was split between rival governments in eastern and western Libya, leaders in July 2016 reached an agreement to reunify the company's management. However, on 2 July 2018 they quarreled again. On 30 January 2005, Libya held its first round of oil and natural gas exploration leases since
7110-603: The Arab League 's first Arab Petroleum Congress convened in Cairo, Egypt, where the influential journalist Wanda Jablonski introduced Saudi Arabia's Abdullah Tariki to Venezuela's observer Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonzo , representing the two then-largest oil-producing nations outside the United States and the Soviet Union. Both oil ministers were angered by the price cuts, and the two led their fellow delegates to establish
7268-725: The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act , and are therefore beyond the legal reach of US competition law governing "commercial" acts. Despite popular sentiment against OPEC, legislative proposals to limit the organisation's sovereign immunity, such as the NOPEC Act, have so far been unsuccessful. OPEC often has difficulty agreeing on policy decisions because its member countries differ widely in their oil export capacities, production costs, reserves, geological features, population, economic development, budgetary situations, and political circumstances. Indeed, over
7426-893: The Hamas Charter 's apparent advocacy of genocidal aspirations . In the periods of 1994–1996 and 2001–2007, Hamas orchestrated a series of suicide bombings , primarily directed at civilian targets in Israel, killing over 1,000 Israeli civilians. Five of the terrorist groups that have been most active since 2001 are Hamas, Boko Haram , al-Qaeda , the Taliban and ISIL . These groups have been most active in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nigeria and Syria. Eighty percent of all deaths from terrorism occurred in these five countries. In 2015 four Islamic extremist groups were responsible for 74% of all deaths from Islamic terrorism: ISIS , Boko Haram,
7584-655: The International Conference of Rome for the Social Defense Against Anarchists , the first international conference against terrorism . According to Bruce Hoffman of the RAND Corporation , in 1980, 2 out of 64 terrorist groups were categorized as having religious motivation while in 1995, almost half (26 out of 56) were religiously motivated with the majority having Islam as their guiding force. Depending on
7742-504: The Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazi groups to the anti-government militia and sovereign citizen movements . Terrorist acts frequently have a political purpose based on self-determination claims, ethnonationalist frustrations, single issue causes (like abortion or the environment), or other ideological or religious causes that terrorists claim are a moral justification for their violent acts. Individuals and groups choose terrorism as
7900-686: The Mediterranean Sea region, called the Tripoli Agreement . The agreement, signed on 2 April 1971, raised oil prices and increased producing countries' profit shares. During 1961–1975, the five founding nations were joined by Qatar (1961), Indonesia (1962–2008, rejoined 2014–2016), Libya (1962), United Arab Emirates (originally just the Emirate of Abu Dhabi , 1967), Algeria (1969), Nigeria (1971), Ecuador (1973–1992, 2007–2020), and Gabon (1975–1994, rejoined 2016). By
8058-1238: The Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists in pre-war Poland , the Shining Path in Peru under Alberto Fujimori , the Kurdistan Workers Party when Turkey was ruled by military leaders and the ANC in South Africa. According to Boaz Ganor, "Modern terrorism sees the liberal democratic state, in all its variations, as the perfect launching pad and a target for its attacks. Moreover, some terrorist organizations—particularly Islamist-jihadist organizations—have chosen to cynically exploit democratic values and institutions to gain power and status, promote their interests, and achieve internal and international legitimacy". Jihadist militants have shown an ambivalent view towards democracy, as they both exploit it for their ends and oppose it in their ideology. Various quotes from jihadist leaders note their disdain for democracy and their efforts to undermine it in favor of Islamic rule. Democracies, such as Japan,
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#17327981341618216-753: The Palestinian airplane hijackings in 1970 and the 1975 Dutch train hostage crisis . Specific political or social causes have included: Causes for right-wing terrorism have included white nationalism , ethnonationalism , fascism, anti-socialism, the anti-abortion movement , and tax resistance . Sometimes terrorists on the same side fight for different reasons. For example, in the Chechen–Russian conflict secular Chechens using terrorist tactics fighting for national independence are allied with radical Islamist terrorists who have arrived from other countries. Various personal and social factors may influence
8374-721: The Six-Day War (1967), Yom Kippur War (1973), a hostage siege directed by Palestinian militants (1975), the Iranian Revolution (1979), Iran–Iraq War (1980–1988), Iraqi occupation of Kuwait (1990–1991), September 11 attacks (2001), American occupation of Iraq (2003–2011), Conflict in the Niger Delta (2004–present), Arab Spring (2010–2012), Libyan Crisis (2011–present), and international Embargo against Iran (2012–2016). Although events such as these can temporarily disrupt oil supplies and elevate prices,
8532-511: The Six-Day War in 1967. However, in 1973, the result was a sharp rise in oil prices and OPEC revenues, from US$ 3/bbl to US$ 12/bbl, and an emergency period of energy rationing , intensified by panic reactions, a declining trend in US oil production, currency devaluations, and a lengthy UK coal-miners dispute. For a time, the UK imposed an emergency three-day workweek . Seven European nations banned non-essential Sunday driving. US gas stations limited
8690-587: The Southern Poverty Law Center released a report on domestic terrorism in the United States. The report (titled The Age of the Wolf ) analyzed 62 incidents and found that, between 2009 and 2015, "more people have been killed in America by non-Islamic domestic terrorists than jihadists ." The "virulent racist and antisemitic " ideology of the ultra-right wing Christian Identity movement
8848-776: The Soviet Union led to increased tensions with the West. On 10 March 1982, the U.S. prohibited imports of Libyan crude oil. Exxon and Mobil left their Libyan operations by January 1983. In March 1984, controls were expanded to prohibit exports to the Ras al-Enf petrochemical complex. President Ronald Reagan imposed sanctions on 7 January 1986 under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act , prohibiting US companies from any trade or financial dealings with Libya, while freezing Libyan assets in
9006-598: The University of Maryland, College Park , has recorded more than 61,000 incidents of non-state terrorism, resulting in at least 140,000 deaths between 2000 and 2014. Various organizations have used terrorism to achieve their objectives. These include left-wing and right-wing political organizations, nationalist groups , religious groups , revolutionaries , and ruling governments . In recent decades, hybrid terrorist organizations have emerged, incorporating both military and political arms. The term "terrorism" itself
9164-539: The 13-million-acre (53,000 km) Waha concessions another 25 years. ConocoPhillips operates the Waha fields with a 16.33% share in the project. NOC has the largest share of the Waha concession, and additional partners include Marathon Oil (16.33%) and Amerada Hess . In October 2013, Libya's oil minister Abdelbari Arusi revealed that the NOC was considering buying Marathon's stake in Waha. In December 2019, NOC stated that it had approved France's Total purchase of stakes in
9322-755: The 16th century has also been described as a reign of terror. The terms "terrorism" and "terrorist" gained renewed currency in the 1970s as a result of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO), the Irish Republican Army (IRA), the Basque separatist group, ETA , and the operations of groups such as the Red Army Faction . Leila Khaled was described as a terrorist in a 1970 issue of Life magazine. A number of books on terrorism were published in
9480-520: The 1959 congress. Government representatives from Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela met in Baghdad to discuss ways to increase the price of crude oil produced by their countries, and ways to respond to unilateral actions by the MOCs. Despite strong US opposition: "Together with Arab and non-Arab producers, Saudi Arabia formed the Organization of Petroleum Export Countries (OPEC) to secure
9638-518: The 1970s, restrictions in oil production led to a dramatic rise in oil prices with long-lasting and far-reaching consequences for the global economy. Since the 1980s, OPEC has had a limited impact on world oil-supply and oil-price stability, as there is frequent cheating by members on their commitments to one another, and as member commitments reflect what they would do even in the absence of OPEC. However, since 2020, OPEC countries along with non-OPEC participants had helped in stabilising oil markets after
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#17327981341619796-622: The 1970s, OPEC nations demonstrated convincingly that their oil could be used as both a political and economic weapon against other nations, at least in the short term. The embargo also meant that a section of the Non-Aligned Movement saw power as a source of hope for their developing countries . The Algerian president Houari Boumédiène expressed this hope in a speech at the UN's sixth Special Session, in April 1974: The OPEC action
9954-427: The 1970s. The topic came further to the fore after the 1983 Beirut barracks bombings and again after the 2001 September 11 attacks and the 2002 Bali bombings . No definition of terrorism has gained universal agreement. Challenges emerge due to the politically and emotionally charged nature of the term, the double standards used in applying it, and disagreement over the nature of terrorist acts and limits of
10112-524: The 1973 oil crisis. In October 1973, the Organisation of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC, consisting of the Arab majority of OPEC plus Egypt and Syria) declared significant production cuts and an oil embargo against the United States and other industrialized nations that supported Israel in the Yom Kippur War . A previous embargo attempt was largely ineffective in response to
10270-425: The 1980s largely failed to achieve its goals (limits on world oil supply, stabilized prices, and raising of long-term average revenues). He finds that members have cheated on 96% of their commitments. The analysis spans over the period 1982–2009. To the extent that when member states comply with their commitments, it is because the commitments reflect what they would do even if OPEC did not exist. One large reason for
10428-466: The 1980–1988 Iran–Iraq War . But these two Iraqi wars against fellow OPEC founders marked a low point in the cohesion of the organization, and oil prices subsided quickly after the short-term supply disruptions. The September 2001 Al Qaeda attacks on the US and the March 2003 US invasion of Iraq had even milder short-term impacts on oil prices, as Saudi Arabia and other exporters again cooperated to keep
10586-492: The 1988 bombing with $ 2.7 billion, to be released in three tranches; the first following a lifting of UN sanctions, the second after lifting of US sanctions, and the third after Libya is removed from the U.S. State Department 's state sponsors of terrorism list. On 22 December 2003, Libya announced it would abandon WMD programs and comply with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty . The US welcomed
10744-692: The 1992 imposition of United Nations sanctions designed to force Gaddafi to hand over two suspects indicted for the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. The sanctions, imposed on 31 March 1992, initially banned sales of equipment for refining and transporting oil, but excluded oil production equipment. Sanctions were expanded on 11 November 1993, to include a freeze on Libya's overseas assets, excluding revenue from oil, natural gas, or agricultural products. Under these condition, NOC Chairman Abdallah al-Badri emphasized reducing new projects and upgrading domestic facilities. Joint ventures were initiated with Veba, Petrofina , North African Petroleum,
10902-588: The 2003–2008 height of the American occupation of Iraq , coinciding with rapidly increasing oil demand from China and commodity -hungry investors, recurring violence against the Nigerian oil industry , and dwindling spare capacity as a cushion against potential shortages . This combination of forces prompted a sharp rise in oil prices to levels far higher than those previously targeted by OPEC. Price volatility reached an extreme in 2008, as WTI crude oil surged to
11060-464: The 70s, 80s, and 90s was more dependent on oil. Now, you get what happened last year... It was gas. The future problem on energy security will not be oil. It will be renewables. And the materials, and the mines." On 10 September 2008, with oil prices still near US$ 100/bbl, a production dispute occurred when the Saudis reportedly walked out of a negotiating session where rival members voted to reduce OPEC output. Although Saudi delegates officially endorsed
11218-430: The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a collapse in oil demand. This has allowed oil markets to remain stable relative to other energy markets that experienced unprecedented volatility. The formation of OPEC marked a turning point toward national sovereignty over natural resources . OPEC decisions have come to play a prominent role in the global oil-market and in international relations . Economists have characterized OPEC as
11376-667: The French Revolution of the late 18th century but became widely used internationally and gained worldwide attention in the 1970s during the Troubles in Northern Ireland, the Basque conflict and the Israeli–Palestinian conflict . The increased use of suicide attacks from the 1980s onwards was typified by the 2001 September 11 attacks in the United States. The Global Terrorism Database , maintained by
11534-751: The Libyan coast, via Greenstream to southeastern Sicily . From Sicily, it flows to the Italian mainland, and then to the rest of Europe. In 2005, additional gas was supplied to the Greenstream pipeline from the Bahr Essalam Field, located in offshore Block NC-41. Development of the Bahr Essalam, Wafa and Bouri Fields , which are part of WLGP, and the natural gas export pipeline represented a shift in Libyan emphasis from oilfield development to
11692-486: The Maadi Pact or Gentlemen's Agreement , calling for an "Oil Consultation Commission" of exporting countries, to which MOCs should present price-change plans. Jablonski reported a marked hostility toward the West and a growing outcry against " absentee landlordism " of the MOCs, which at the time controlled all oil operations within the exporting countries and wielded enormous political influence. In August 1960, ignoring
11850-642: The Middle East. Their activities in Lebanon during the 1980s garnered support among local Shiites , leading to the rise of smaller terrorist groups, notably the Islamic Jihad . Hamas , the main Islamist movement in the Palestinian territories , was formed by Palestinian imam Ahmed Yassin in 1987. Some scholars, including constitutional law professor Alexander Tsesis , have voiced concerns over
12008-508: The Ministry of Energy was abolished, further consolidating control over the sector. Although U.N. sanctions were suspended in 1999, foreign investment was curtailed due to the U.S. Iran and Libya Sanctions Act (ILSA), which capped the annual amount foreign companies can invest in Libya at $ 20 million (lowered from $ 40 million in 2001). On 14 August 2003, Libya agreed to compensate families of
12166-847: The Murzuq Basin. Industry experts believe the discovery to be one of the biggest made in Libya for several years. Repsol YPF is joined by a consortium of partners including OMV, Total and Norsk Hydro . Also located in Murzuq Basin is Eni's Elephant field , onshore in Block NC-174. In October 1997, a consortium led by British company Lasmo, along with Eni and a group of five South Korean companies, announced that it had discovered large recoverable crude reserves 750 kilometres (470 mi) south of Tripoli . Lasmo estimated field production would cost around $ 1 per barrel. Elephant began production in February 2004. Eni (33.3% equity interest) operated
12324-508: The North Sea, and the Gulf of Mexico. By 1986, daily worldwide demand for oil dropped by 5 million barrels, non-OPEC production rose by an even-larger amount, and OPEC's market share sank from approximately 50 percent in 1979 to less than 30 percent in 1985. Illustrating the volatile multi-year timeframes of typical market cycles for natural resources, the result was a six-year decline in
12482-551: The OPEC was the first intergovernmental body to leave the country because of restrictions on foreigners. Austria was keen to attract international organizations and offered attractive terms to the OPEC. During the early years of OPEC, the oil-producing countries had a 50/50 profit agreement with the oil companies. OPEC bargained with the dominant oil companies (the Seven Sisters), but OPEC faced coordination problems among its members. If one OPEC member demanded too much from
12640-563: The Petroleum Development Co. (Republic of Korea) and Lasmo . Foreign operators were encouraged to produce exclusively for export, limited to national oil companies with pre-sanctions equity in Libya. This policy was an attempt to contain the amount of crude offered on the spot market through third-party traders, and increase downstream investment. In 2000, NOC was reorganized by the General People's Congress after
12798-548: The September 11 attacks, Bush declared the 2003 invasion of Iraq to be part of the War on Terror. The resulting backlash and instability enabled the rise of Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and the temporary creation of an Islamic caliphate holding territory in Iraq and Syria, until ISIL lost its territory through military defeats. Attacks used to draw international attention to struggles that are otherwise unreported have included
12956-635: The Taliban, and al-Qaeda, according to the Global Terrorism Index 2016. Since approximately 2000, these incidents have occurred on a global scale, affecting not only Muslim-majority states in Africa and Asia, but also states with non-Muslim majority such as United States , United Kingdom , France , Germany , Spain , Belgium , Sweden , Russia , Australia , Canada , Sri Lanka , Israel , China , India and Philippines . Such attacks have targeted both Muslims and non-Muslims, however
13114-513: The US ended sanctions: 15 areas were offered for auctions. In October 2005, a second bidding round was held under EPSA IV, with 51 companies taking part and nearly $ 500 million worth of new investment flowing into the country as a result. In December 2006, Libya held its third bidding round; however, PSAs were still being signed by NOC as of April 2007. Libya has substantial potential for exploration with an average of 16 wells per 10,000-km, whereas similar countries usually average 50 (the world average
13272-442: The US following the breakup of John D. Rockefeller 's original Standard Oil monopoly. Oil-exporting countries were eventually motivated to form OPEC as a counterweight to this concentration of political and economic power . In February 1959, as new supplies were becoming available, the multinational oil companies (MOCs) unilaterally reduced their posted prices for Venezuelan and Middle Eastern crude oil by 10 percent. Weeks later,
13430-544: The US. On 30 June 1986, the US Treasury Department forced remaining US oil companies to leave Libya but allowed them to negotiate standstill agreements, retaining ownership for three years while allowing NOC to operate the fields. As a result, Amerada Hess, Conoco, Grace Petroleum, Marathon, and Occidental left a production entitlement that was generating 263,000 bbl/d (41,800 m/d). Negotiations with NOC and US oil companies over assets dominated much of
13588-628: The United Kingdom, the United States , Israel , Indonesia , India , Spain , Germany , Italy and the Philippines , have all experienced domestic terrorism. While a democratic nation espousing civil liberties may claim a sense of higher moral ground than other regimes, an act of terrorism within such a state may cause a dilemma: whether to maintain its civil liberties and thus risk being perceived as ineffective in dealing with
13746-640: The United States. Additionally, the NOC had encountered legal actions by BP over claims of ownership. Although the 1973 oil crisis increased global demand, BP's legal position made some countries wary of importing from Libya. NOC compensated for this weakness by arranging barter deals with France and Argentina. On March 18, 1974, the Arab oil ministers ended the US-embargo, with Libya being the sole exception. During 1974, agreements reached with Exxon, Mobil, Elf Aquitaine and Agip provided production-sharing on an 85-15 basis onshore, 81-19 offshore. Eventually, all
13904-630: The WLGP, and to use it mainly for power generation in Italy. Besides Edison, Italy's Energia Gas and Gaz de France committed to taking around 70 × 10 ^ cu ft (2.0 × 10 m) of Libyan natural gas. Notes: 1. Energy Information Administration (2007) Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries ( OPEC , / ˈ oʊ p ɛ k / OH -pek )
14062-511: The age—such as the invention of dynamite, which they were the first anarchist group to make widespread use of —enabled them to strike directly and with discrimination. In 1920 Leon Trotsky wrote Terrorism and Communism to justify the Red Terror and defend the moral superiority of revolutionary terrorism . The assassination of the Empress of Austria Elisabeth in 1898 resulted in
14220-482: The aim of securing a regular supply to consuming countries at a price that gave a fair return on capital investment. OPEC members strongly prefer to describe their organisation as a modest force for market stabilisation, rather than a powerful anti-competitive cartel. In its defense, the organisation was founded as a counterweight against the previous " Seven Sisters " cartel of multinational oil companies, and non-OPEC energy suppliers have maintained enough market share for
14378-476: The amount of petrol that could be dispensed, closed on Sundays, and restricted the days when petrol could be purchased, based on number plate numbers. Even after the embargo ended in March 1974, following intense diplomatic activity, prices continued to rise. The world experienced a global economic recession , with unemployment and inflation surging simultaneously , steep declines in stock and bond prices, major shifts in trade balances and petrodollar flows , and
14536-457: The annual budget. However, since Saudi Arabia is by far the largest and most-profitable oil exporter in the world, with enough capacity to function as the traditional swing producer to balance the global market, it serves as "OPEC's de facto leader". At various times, OPEC members have displayed apparent anti-competitive cartel behavior through the organisation's agreements about oil production and price levels. Economists often cite OPEC as
14694-417: The assumed relevance of "Thuggee" to the study of modern terrorism is taken for granted. Yet the significance of the article is not simply a matter of citations―it has also provided the foundation for what has become known as the "New Terrorism" paradigm. While Rapoport did not suggest which late 20th century groups might exemplify the implied recurrence of "holy terror", Bruce Hoffman, recognized today as one of
14852-665: The attack, Carlos's accomplices revealed that the operation was commanded by Wadie Haddad , a founder of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine . They also claimed that the idea and funding came from an Arab president, widely thought to be Muammar Gaddafi of Libya, itself an OPEC member. Fellow militants Bassam Abu Sharif and Klein claimed that Carlos received and kept a ransom between 20 million and US$ 50 million from "an Arab president". Carlos claimed that Saudi Arabia paid ransom on behalf of Iran, but that
15010-503: The best price available from the major oil corporations." The Middle Eastern members originally called for OPEC headquarters to be in Baghdad or Beirut, but Venezuela argued for a neutral location, and so the organization chose Geneva , Switzerland. On 1 September 1965, OPEC moved to Vienna , Austria, after Switzerland declined to extend diplomatic privileges . At the time, Switzerland was attempting to reduce their foreign population and
15168-454: The country's Waha concessions. NOC owns and operates several refining facilities, in addition to many oil and natural gas processing companies. Close to 380,000 bbl/d (60,000 m/d) of crude is refined by NOCs subsidiaries. Approximately 60% of refined products are exported, primarily to Europe. These are simple hydroskimming refineries, but their products meet market specifications due to high quality crude. As of early June 2007, NOC
15326-535: The country's oil output. The province ranks 13th among the world's petroleum provinces, having known reserves of 43.1 billion barrels (6.85 × 10 ^ m) of oil equivalent (367,00 000,000 bbl (0 m) of oil, 37.7 trillion cubic feet (1.07 × 10 ^ m) of gas, 0.1 Gbbl (16,000,000 m) of natural gas liquids ). The government dominates Libya's economy through control of oil resources, which account for approximately 95% of export earnings, 75% of government receipts, and over 50% of GDP , which
15484-645: The country, the political system, and the time in history, the types of terrorism are varying. In early 1975, the Law Enforcement Assistant Administration in the United States formed the National Advisory Committee on Criminal Justice Standards and Goals. One of the five volumes that the committee wrote was titled Disorders and Terrorism , produced by the Task Force on Disorders and Terrorism under
15642-408: The course of market cycles, oil reserves can themselves become a source of serious conflict, instability and imbalances, in what economists call the " natural resource curse ". A further complication is that religion-linked conflicts in the Middle East are recurring features of the geopolitical landscape for this oil-rich region. Internationally important conflicts in OPEC's history have included
15800-592: The creation of OPEC, individual oil-producing states were punished for taking steps to alter the governing arrangements of oil production within their borders. States were coerced militarily (e.g. in 1953, the US-UK-sponsored a coup against Mohammad Mosaddegh after he nationalized Iran's oil production) or economically (e.g. the Seven Sisters slowed down oil production in one non-compliant state and ramped up oil production elsewhere) when acted contrary to
15958-578: The direction of H. H. A. Cooper, Director of the Task Force staff. The Task Force defines terrorism as "a tactic or technique by means of which a violent act or the threat thereof is used for the prime purpose of creating overwhelming fear for coercive purposes". It classified disorders and terrorism into seven categories: Other sources have defined the typology of terrorism in different ways, for example, broadly classifying it into domestic terrorism and international terrorism , or using categories such as vigilante terrorism or insurgent terrorism. Some ways
16116-567: The early 1970s, OPEC's membership accounted for more than half of worldwide oil production. Indicating that OPEC is not averse to further expansion, Mohammed Barkindo , OPEC's acting secretary general in 2006, urged his African neighbors Angola and Sudan to join, and Angola did in 2007, followed by Equatorial Guinea in 2017. Since the 1980s, representatives from Canada, Egypt, Mexico, Norway, Oman, Russia, and other oil-exporting nations have attended many OPEC meetings as observers, as an informal mechanism for coordinating policies. The oil market
16274-490: The end of that year, having become a net importer of oil and being unable to meet its production quota. A statement released by OPEC on 10 September 2008 confirmed Indonesia's withdrawal, noting that OPEC "regretfully accepted the wish of Indonesia to suspend its full membership in the organization, and recorded its hope that the country would be in a position to rejoin the organization in the not-too-distant future." The differing economic needs of OPEC member states often affect
16432-561: The field for joint-venture partners NOC (33.3%), Korea National Oil Co. (16.67%), SK Corp of Korea (8.33%), Majuko Enterprise, Ltd. of Korea (5%), and Daesung Industrial Co. Ltd. of Korea (3.3%). The field was expected to produce 150,000 bbl/d (24,000 m/d) when fully operational in 2007. WOCs Waha fields currently produce around 350,000 bbl/d (56,000 m/d). On 29 December 2005, ConocoPhillips and co-venturers reached an agreement with NOC to return to its oil and natural gas exploration and production operations in Libya and extend
16590-474: The foreign companies (excluding BP) agreed to partial nationalization, providing Libya with a substantial oil surplus. However, declining world oil prices resulted in NOC selling back its production shares. Other concessions that were nationalized that year included those belonging to BP, Amoseas (Beida field), Hunt, Arco , Esso and Shell 's 17 percent share in the Oasis Oil Company. Mobil-Gelsenberg
16748-572: The frequent cheating is that OPEC does not punish members for non-compliance with commitments. In June 2020, all countries participating in the OPEC+ framework collectively agreed to the introduction of a Compensation Mechanism aimed at ensuring full conformity with and adherence to the agreed-upon oil production cuts. This initiative aligns with one of OPEC's stated objectives: to maintain a stable oil market, which, notably, has been relatively more stable than other energy commodities. The OPEC Conference
16906-409: The frequent disputes and instabilities tend to limit OPEC's long-term cohesion and effectiveness. In 1949, Venezuela initiated the move towards the establishment of what would become OPEC, by inviting Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to exchange views and explore avenues for more regular and closer communication among petroleum-exporting nations as the world recovered from World War II . At
17064-519: The global crude-oil market. Canada, Egypt, Norway, and Oman are observer states. In a series of steps in the 1960s and 1970s, OPEC restructured the global system of oil production in favor of oil-producing states and away from an oligopoly of dominant Anglo-American oil firms (the Seven Sisters). Coordination among oil-producing states within OPEC made it easier for them to nationalize oil production and structure oil prices in their favor without incurring punishment by Western governments and firms. Prior to
17222-437: The interests of the Seven Sisters and their governments. The organisational logic that underpins OPEC is that it is in the collective interest of its members to limit the world oil supply in order to reap higher prices. However, the main problem within OPEC is that it is individually rational for members to cheat on commitments and produce as much oil as possible. Political scientist Jeff Colgan has argued that OPEC has since
17380-406: The internal debates behind OPEC production quotas. Poorer members have pushed for production cuts from fellow members, to increase the price of oil and thus their own revenues. These proposals conflict with Saudi Arabia's stated long-term strategy of being a partner with the world's economic powers to ensure a steady flow of oil that would support economic expansion. Part of the basis for this policy
17538-604: The late 1980s. Libya responded by concluding its third Exploration and Production Sharing Arrangements (EPSA-III) in 1988, including agreements with Rompetrol , the Romanian Oil Company, Royal Dutch Shell, Montedison , International Petroleum Corporation of Canada, INA-Naftaplin, OMV, Braspetro and Husky Oil. The agreements included expenditure guarantees by the Libyan government, an important departure from earlier regulations, designed to help offset sanctions. Libya's isolation became even more pronounced following
17696-497: The latter assumed all risks associated with exploration. In July 1970, further legislation made NOC responsible for marketing all domestic oil products. In the 1970s Libya initiated a socialist style nationalization program under which the government either nationalized oil companies or became a participant in their concessions, production and transportation facilities. As part of this program, NOC signed production-sharing agreements with Occidental Petroleum , Sincat (Italy), and formed
17854-413: The lifting of sanctions against Libya in 2004, the United States has gradually increased its importation of Libyan oil; the U.S. imported an average of 85,500 bbl/d (13,590 m/d) of total Libyan oil exports in 2006, up from 56,000 bbl/d (8,900 m/d) in 2005. Italy's Edison S.p.A. has committed, under a "take-or-pay" contract, to taking around half (140 Bcf per year) of the natural gas from
18012-497: The main driver behind these trends. The emergence of Hezbollah in 1982 marked a pivotal moment in terrorism's history. The Shiite Islamist group, rooted in Lebanon , drew inspiration from the Iranian Revolution and Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini 's teachings , responding to the 1982 Lebanon War . Beyond pursuing revolutionary goals, Hezbollah members were deeply concerned about the social conditions of Shiite communities across
18170-571: The majority affect Muslims themselves. Terrorism in Pakistan has become a great problem. From the summer of 2007 until late 2009, more than 1,500 people were killed in suicide and other attacks on civilians for reasons attributed to a number of causes—sectarian violence between Sunni and Shia Muslims ; easy availability of guns and explosives; the existence of a " Kalashnikov culture"; an influx of ideologically driven Muslims based in or near Pakistan , who originated from various nations around
18328-492: The market with cheap oil, causing prices to fall below US$ 10/bbl and higher-cost producers to become unprofitable. These strategic measures by Saudi Arabia to regulate oil prices had profound economic repercussions. As the swing producer in that period, the Kingdom faced significant economic strain. Its revenues dramatically decreased from $ 119 billion in 1981 to $ 26 billion by 1985, leading to substantial budget deficits and
18486-874: The money was "diverted en route and lost by the Revolution". He was finally captured in 1994 and is serving life sentences for at least 16 other murders. In response to a wave of oil nationalizations and the high prices of the 1970s, industrial nations took steps to reduce their dependence on OPEC oil, especially after prices reached new peaks approaching US$ 40/bbl in 1979–1980 when the Iranian Revolution and Iran–Iraq War disrupted regional stability and oil supplies. Electric utilities worldwide switched from oil to coal, natural gas, or nuclear power; national governments initiated multibillion-dollar research programs to develop alternatives to oil; and commercial exploration developed major non-OPEC oilfields in Siberia, Alaska,
18644-433: The move, but said it would maintain economic sanctions until it saw evidence of compliance. On 4 June 2004, US Assistant Secretary of Commerce William H. Lash announced that Libya had sent its first shipment of crude oil to the US since resumption of ties between the two countries. In May 2006, the U.S. officially removed Libya from its list of states that sponsor terrorism and normalized ties and removed sanctions. During
18802-438: The national governments of OPEC members are able to impose production limits on both government-owned and private oil companies.) Generally when OPEC production targets are reduced, oil prices increase. Leading up to his August 1990 Invasion of Kuwait , Iraqi President Saddam Hussein was pushing OPEC to end overproduction and to send oil prices higher, in order to help OPEC members financially and to accelerate rebuilding from
18960-586: The new quotas, they stated anonymously that they would not observe them. The New York Times quoted one such delegate as saying: "Saudi Arabia will meet the market's demand. We will see what the market requires and we will not leave a customer without oil. The policy has not changed." Over the next few months, oil prices plummeted into the $ 30s, and did not return to $ 100 until the Libyan Civil War in 2011. During 2014–2015, OPEC members consistently exceeded their production ceiling, and China experienced
19118-603: The next ministerial conference in June 2016. By 20 January 2016, the OPEC Reference Basket was down to US$ 22.48/bbl – less than one-fourth of its high from June 2014 ($ 110.48), less than one-sixth of its record from July 2008 ($ 140.73), and back below the April 2003 starting point ($ 23.27) of its historic run-up. Terrorism Terrorism , in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term
19276-430: The oil companies, then the oil companies could slow down production in that country and ramp up production elsewhere. The 50/50 agreements were still in place until 1970 when Libya negotiated a 58/42 agreement with the oil company Occidental , which prompted other OPEC members to request better agreements with oil companies. > In 1971, an accord was signed between major oil companies and members of OPEC doing business in
19434-428: The oil ministers' deaths would result in an attack on the plane. Boumédienne must also have offered Carlos asylum at this time and possibly financial compensation for failing to complete his assignment. Carlos expressed his regret at not being able to murder Yamani and Amuzegar, then he and his comrades left the plane. All the hostages and terrorists walked away from the situation, two days after it began. Sometime after
19592-520: The organization: "A cartel needs to set tough goals and meet them; OPEC sets easy goals and fails to meet even those." OPEC has not been involved in any disputes related to the competition rules of the World Trade Organization , even though the objectives, actions, and principles of the two organisations diverge considerably. A key US District Court decision held that OPEC consultations are protected as "governmental" acts of state by
19750-611: The original 63 hostages, with stops in Algiers and Tripoli , planning to fly eventually to Baghdad , where Yamani and Amuzegar were to be killed. All 30 non-Arab hostages were released in Algiers, excluding Amuzegar. Additional hostages were released at another stop in Tripoli before returning to Algiers. With only 10 hostages remaining, Carlos held a phone conversation with Algerian president Houari Boumédiène , who informed Carlos that
19908-653: The personal choice of whether to join a terrorist group or attempt an act of terror, including: A report conducted by Paul Gill, John Horgan and Paige Deckert found that for "lone wolf" terrorists: Ariel Merari , a psychologist who has studied the psychological profiles of suicide terrorists since 1983 through media reports that contained biographical details, interviews with the suicides' families, and interviews with jailed would-be suicide attackers , concluded that they were unlikely to be psychologically abnormal. In comparison to economic theories of criminal behaviour, Scott Atran found that suicide terrorists exhibit none of
20066-570: The petroleum products produced by the National Oil Corporation are sold on a term basis, including to the country's overseas oil retail and marketing network Oilinvest , also known as Tamoil . Through Tamoil, Libya is a direct producer and distributor of refined products in Italy, Germany, Switzerland, and Egypt. Tamoil Italia , based in Milan , controls about 7.5% of Italy's retail market for oil products and lubricants, which are distributed through 3,000 Tamoil service stations. Libya's ability to increase
20224-451: The populace. To avoid detection, a terrorist will look, dress, and behave normally until executing the assigned mission. Some claim that attempts to profile terrorists based on personality, physical, or sociological traits are not useful. The physical and behavioral description of the terrorist could describe almost any normal person. The majority of terrorist attacks are carried out by military age men, aged 16 to 40. Groups not part of
20382-675: The price of oil, which culminated by plunging more than half in 1986 alone. As one oil analyst summarized succinctly: "When the price of something as essential as oil spikes, humanity does two things: finds more of it and finds ways to use less of it." To combat falling revenue from oil sales, in 1982 Saudi Arabia pressed OPEC for audited national production quotas in an attempt to limit output and boost prices. When other OPEC nations failed to comply, Saudi Arabia first slashed its own production from 10 million barrels daily in 1979–1981 to just one-third of that level in 1985. When even this proved ineffective, Saudi Arabia reversed course and flooded
20540-411: The problem; or alternatively to restrict its civil liberties and thus risk delegitimizing its claim of supporting civil liberties. For this reason, homegrown terrorism has started to be seen as a greater threat, as stated by former CIA Director Michael Hayden. This dilemma, some social theorists would conclude, may very well play into the initial plans of the acting terrorist(s); namely, to delegitimize
20698-519: The profitability of high-cost US shale oil production. As he explained in an interview: Is it reasonable for a highly efficient producer to reduce output, while the producer of poor efficiency continues to produce? That is crooked logic. If I reduce, what happens to my market share? The price will go up and the Russians, the Brazilians, US shale oil producers will take my share... We want to tell
20856-564: The propaganda tactics used by terrorists. Some security organizations designate these groups as violent non-state actors . A 2007 study by economist Alan B. Krueger found that terrorists were less likely to come from an impoverished background (28 percent versus 33 percent) and more likely to have at least a high-school education (47 percent versus 38 percent). Another analysis found only 16 percent of terrorists came from impoverished families, versus 30 percent of male Palestinians, and over 60 percent had gone beyond high school, versus 15 percent of
21014-455: The right to self-determination . Harvard law professor Richard Baxter , a leading expert on the law of war, was a skeptic: "We have cause to regret that a legal concept of 'terrorism' was ever inflicted upon us. The term is imprecise; it is ambiguous; and above all, it serves no operative legal purpose." Different legal systems and government agencies employ diverse definitions of terrorism, with governments showing hesitation in establishing
21172-672: The secular Irgun were among the Zionist groups labelled as terrorist organisations by the British authorities and United Nations , for violent terror attacks against Britons and Arabs. Another extremist group, the Lehi , openly declared its members as "terrorists". Historian William Cleveland stated many Jews justified any action, even terrorism, taken in the cause of the creation of a Jewish state. In 1995, Yigal Amir assassinated Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin . For Amir, killing Rabin
21330-600: The socially dysfunctional attributes—such as fatherless, friendless, jobless situations—or suicidal symptoms. By which he means, they do not kill themselves simply out of hopelessness or a sense of 'having nothing to lose'. Abrahm suggests that terrorist organizations do not select terrorism for its political effectiveness. Individual terrorists tend to be motivated more by a desire for social solidarity with other members of their organization than by political platforms or strategic objectives, which are often murky and undefined. Michael Mousseau shows possible relationships between
21488-519: The socio-economic growth of poorer nations. The OPEC Special Fund was conceived in Algiers, Algeria , in March 1975, and was formally established the following January. "A Solemn Declaration 'reaffirmed the natural solidarity which unites OPEC countries with other developing countries in their struggle to overcome underdevelopment,' and called for measures to strengthen cooperation between these countries... [The OPEC Special Fund's] resources are additional to those already made available by OPEC states through
21646-469: The state and cause a systematic shift towards anarchy via the accumulation of negative sentiments towards the state system. The perpetrators of acts of terrorism can be individuals, groups, or states. According to some definitions, clandestine or semi-clandestine state actors may carry out terrorist acts outside the framework of a state of war. The most common image of terrorism is that it is carried out by small and secretive cells , highly motivated to serve
21804-800: The state apparatus of in opposition to the state are most commonly referred to as a "terrorist" in the media. According to the Global Terrorism Database, the most active terrorist group in the period 1970 to 2010 was Shining Path (with 4,517 attacks), followed by Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front (FMLN), Irish Republican Army (IRA), Basque Fatherland and Freedom (ETA), Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), Taliban , Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam , New People's Army , National Liberation Army of Colombia (ELN), and Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Israel has had problems with religious terrorism even before independence in 1948. During British mandate over Palestine ,
21962-539: The supply of oil products to European markets has been constrained by Libya's refineries' need for substantial upgrading to meet stricter European Union environmental standards in place since 1996. In June 2007, U.S.-based Colony Capital reached an agreement to take over 65% of Tamoil, while the Libyan government will retain 35%. Libya will continue to control Tamoil Africa , which operates retail stations in Egypt and Burkina Faso , as well as other African nations. NOC oil
22120-623: The time, some of the world's largest oil fields were just entering production in the Middle East. The United States had established the Interstate Oil Compact Commission to join the Texas Railroad Commission in limiting overproduction. The US was simultaneously the world's largest producer and consumer of oil; the world market was dominated by a group of multinational companies known as the " Seven Sisters ", five of which were headquartered in
22278-495: The type of economy within a country and ideology associated with terrorism. Many terrorists have a history of domestic violence. Terrorism is most common in nations with intermediate political freedom, and it is least common in the most democratic nations. Some examples of terrorism in non-democratic nations include ETA in Spain under Francisco Franco (although the group's activities increased sharply after Franco's death),
22436-424: The typology of terrorism may be defined are: According to the Global Terrorism Index by the University of Maryland, College Park , religious extremism has overtaken national separatism and become the main driver of terrorist attacks around the world. Since 9/11 there has been a five-fold increase in deaths from terrorist attacks. The majority of incidents over the past several years can be tied to groups with
22594-468: The warnings, and with the US favoring Canadian and Mexican oil for strategic reasons, the MOCs again unilaterally announced significant cuts in their posted prices for Middle Eastern crude oil. The following month, during 10–14 September 1960, the Baghdad Conference was held at the initiative of Tariki, Pérez Alfonzo, and Iraqi prime minister Abd al-Karim Qasim , whose country had skipped
22752-522: The world adequately supplied. In the 1990s, OPEC lost its two newest members, who had joined in the mid-1970s. Ecuador withdrew in December 1992, because it was unwilling to pay the annual US$ 2 million membership fee and felt that it needed to produce more oil than it was allowed under the OPEC quota, although it rejoined in October 2007. Similar concerns prompted Gabon to suspend membership in January 1995; it rejoined in July 2016. Iraq has remained
22910-585: The world and the subsequent war against the pro-Soviet Afghans in the 1980s which blew back into Pakistan; the presence of Islamist insurgent groups and forces such as the Taliban and Lashkar-e-Taiba. On July 2, 2013, in Lahore , 50 Muslim scholars of the Sunni Ittehad Council (SIC) issued a collective fatwa against suicide bombings, the killing of innocent people, bomb attacks, and targeted killings declaring them as Haraam or forbidden. In 2015,
23068-686: The world that high-efficiency producing countries are the ones that deserve market share. That is the operative principle in all capitalist countries... One thing is for sure: Current prices [roughly US$ 60/bbl] do not support all producers. A year later, when OPEC met in Vienna on 4 December 2015, the organization had exceeded its production ceiling for 18 consecutive months, US oil production had declined only slightly from its peak, world markets appeared to be oversupplied by at least 2 million barrels per day despite war-torn Libya pumping 1 million barrels below capacity, oil producers were making major adjustments to withstand prices as low as $ 40, Indonesia
23226-437: The world's leading terrorism experts, did not hesitate to do so. A decade after Rapoport's article. Hoffman picked up the mantle and taking the three case studies as inspiration, he formulated a model of contemporary "holy terror" or, as he defined it, "terrorism motivated by a religious imperative". Completely distinct from "secular terrorists", Hoffman argued that "religious terrorists" carry out indiscriminate acts of violence as
23384-517: The years, much research has been conducted to distill a terrorist profile to explain these individuals' actions through their psychology and socio-economic circumstances. Some specialists highlight the lack of evidence supporting the idea that terrorists are typically psychologically disturbed. The careful planning and detailed execution seen in many terrorist acts are not characteristics generally associated with mentally unstable individuals. Others, like Roderick Hindery, have sought to discern profiles in
23542-455: Was Narodnaya Volya , founded in Russia in 1878 as a revolutionary anarchist group inspired by Sergei Nechayev and " propaganda by the deed " theorist Carlo Pisacane . The group developed ideas—such as targeted killing of the 'leaders of oppression', which were to become the hallmark of subsequent violence by small non-state groups, and they were convinced that the developing technologies of
23700-527: Was US$ 50.2 billion in 2006. Libya has attracted hydrocarbon exploration since 1956, when the first wildcat oil well was drilled onshore in the Sirte Basin. Libya granted multiple concessions to Esso , Mobil , ENI , Texas Gulf, and others, resulting in major oil discoveries by 1959. In 1969, the Idrissid monarchy was overthrown in a bloodless coup led by Muammar Gaddafi . He eventually elaborated
23858-664: Was a modern phenomenon until David C. Rapoport published his seminal article Fear and Trembling: Terrorism in Three Religious Traditions in 1984. Rapoport proposed three case studies to demonstrate "ancient lineage" of religious terrorism, which he called "sacred terror": the "Thugs" , the Assassins and the Jewish Sicarii Zealots . Rapoport argued religious terrorism has been ongoing since ancient times and that "there are signs that it
24016-453: Was evaluating investment proposals for upgrading its Ra's Lanuf refinery . Total cost of the upgrade is estimated at $ 2 billion. NOC is also expected to re-tender an engineering, procurement and construction contract for upgrading the Zawia refinery. NOC's refineries include: Notes: 1. Amounts in barrels per day. The Ra's Lanuf refinery produces petrochemicals , utilizing naphtha as
24174-454: Was not accepted. In 2006, it was estimated that there were over 109 different definitions of terrorism. Early published studies like Paul Wilkinson considered terrorism a product of 19th-century revolutionary politics. Technological developments like the pistol and dynamite made possible the relentless onslaught of successful attacks and assassinations that shook the 19th-century. Scholars of terrorism had largely assumed that terrorism
24332-612: Was orchestrated by a six-person team led by Venezuelan terrorist " Carlos the Jackal ", and which included Gabriele Kröcher-Tiedemann and Hans-Joachim Klein . The self-named "Arm of the Arab Revolution" group declared its goal to be the liberation of Palestine . Carlos planned to take over the conference by force and hold for ransom all eleven attending oil ministers, except for Yamani and Amuzegar who were to be executed. Carlos arranged bus and plane travel for his team and 42 of
24490-609: Was originally used to describe the actions of the Jacobin Club during the " Reign of Terror " in the French Revolution . "Terror is nothing other than justice, prompt, severe, inflexible", said Jacobin leader Maximilien Robespierre . In 1795, Edmund Burke denounced the Jacobins for letting "thousands of those hell-hounds called Terrorists ... loose on the people" of France. John Calvin 's rule over Geneva in
24648-426: Was owned by the NOC (51%), Mobil (32%), and Gelsenberg (17%). pd. The last phase of the socialist period was characterized by an intensive effort to build industrial capacity, but falling world oil prices in the early 1980s dramatically reduced government revenues and caused a serious decline in Libya's advantage in terms of energy costs. More importantly, accusations of terrorism and Libya's growing friendship with
24806-557: Was rejoining the export organization, Iraqi production had surged after years of disorder, Iranian output was poised to rebound with the lifting of international sanctions , hundreds of world leaders at the Paris Climate Agreement were committing to limit carbon emissions from fossil fuels, and solar technologies were becoming steadily more competitive and prevalent. In light of all these market pressures, OPEC decided to set aside its ineffective production ceiling until
24964-484: Was tight in the early 1970s, which reduced the risks for OPEC members in nationalising their oil production. One of the major fears for OPEC members was that nationalisation would cause a steep decline in the price of oil. This prompted a wave of nationalisations in countries such as Libya, Algeria, Iraq, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. With greater control over oil production decisions and amid high oil prices, OPEC members unilaterally raised oil prices in 1973, prompting
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