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85-484: The pipeline project was proposed in 1978 as an export pipeline from Yamburg gas field , but was later changed to the pipeline from Urengoy field, which was already in use. In July 1981, a consortium of German banks, led by Deutsche Bank , and the AKA Ausfuhrkredit GmbH agreed to provide 3.4 billion Deutsche Mark in credits for the compressor stations . Later finance agreements were negotiated with

170-479: 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

255-633: 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,

340-920: 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

425-815: A group of French banks and the Japan Export-Import Bank (JEXIM). In 1981-1982, contracts were signed with compressors and pipes suppliers Creusot-Loire, John Brown Engineering , Nuovo Pignone, AEG-Telefunken , Mannesmann , Dresser Industries , and Japan Steel Works . Pipe-layers were bought from Komatsu . The pipeline was constructed in 1982-1984. It complemented the Western Siberia-Western Europe transcontinental gas transportation system which had existed since 1973. The official inauguration ceremony took place in France . On 19 July 2011, UkrTransGaz started modernization of

510-758: A hub at Sudzha , Kursk Oblast then crosses the Russian–Ukrainian border north of Sumy . In Ukraine, it takes gas to the Uzhhorod pumping station on the Ukrainian border with Slovakia and to smaller pumping stations on the Hungarian and Romanian borders. The pipeline crosses the Ural, the Carpathian mountains and more than 600 rivers including Ob , Volga , Don and Dnieper rivers. The pipeline

595-665: 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

680-762: 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,

765-806: 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

850-510: 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

935-487: 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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1020-522: 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

1105-613: 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

1190-428: 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

1275-780: 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

1360-472: 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

1445-560: Is 4,500 kilometres (2,800 mi) long, of which 1,160 kilometres (720 mi) is in Ukraine. Its diameter is 56 inches (1,420 mm). The original annual capacity of the pipeline was 32 billion cubic metres (1.1 trillion cubic feet) of natural gas per year. By 2009, the factual annual capacity was 27.9 billion cubic metres (990 billion cubic feet). It has 42 compressor stations, of which nine are in Ukraine. The telecommunications and cathodic protection systems of

1530-645: 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

1615-471: 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

1700-529: Is operated by Gazprom Dobycha Yamburg , a subsidiary of Gazprom . The total geological reserves are estimated at 8.2 trillion cubic meters of natural gas, mostly from Upper Cretaceous reservoir rocks at depths of 1,000–1,210 metres (3,280–3,970 ft). The gas field has an area of around 170 kilometres (110 mi) by 50 kilometres (31 mi). Since starting operations, Yamburg has produced more than 4.5 trillion cubic meters of natural gas as of October 2012. In later years, production has moved to

1785-407: 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

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1870-598: 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

1955-528: 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

2040-603: 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

2125-725: 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

2210-686: 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

2295-721: 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,

2380-511: 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

2465-574: 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

2550-518: 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

2635-622: 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

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2720-524: 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

2805-425: 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

2890-466: 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

2975-588: 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

3060-517: 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

3145-486: 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

3230-537: 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

3315-508: 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

3400-551: 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

3485-570: The Russian region of Chuvashia during maintenance work was reported on December 20, 2022; three people were reported to have been killed. The 1987 James Bond film The Living Daylights uses an inspection gadget in the pipeline as a plot device to smuggle a KGB defector to the West. In 1987, Antony Blinken 's college thesis was published as his first book about that episode in Cold War history: Ally Versus Ally: America, Europe, and

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3570-718: The Siberian Pipeline Crisis. Yamburg gas field The Yamburg gas field is the world's third largest natural gas field located 148.5 kilometres (92.3 mi) north of the Arctic Circle in the Tazovsky and Nadymsky districts in Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug , Tyumen Oblast, Russia. It was discovered in 1969 by Vasiliy Podshibyakin . Development of the field started in 1980, production started in 1986. It

3655-602: The Soviet gas supplies, giving leverage to the Soviet Union. They also feared the Kremlin would use the export revenue for military purposes. In December 1981, the US implemented sanctions preventing American companies from exporting oil and gas technologies to the Soviet Union. In June 1982, these sanctions were expanded to cover subsidiaries of US companies in Europe. Washington's Western European allies, however, refused to boycott

3740-468: The Soviets and European companies needed to be honored. This led to several European companies being sanctioned by the US. Reagan reportedly said: "Well, they can have their damned pipeline. But not with American equipment and not with American technology." The efforts by the US to prevent the construction of the pipeline , and its export embargo of supplies needed to build it (1980–84), constituted one of

3825-442: 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,

3910-482: 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

3995-476: 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

4080-457: 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

4165-665: 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

4250-503: 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

4335-468: 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

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4420-592: 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

4505-567: 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

4590-490: 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

4675-572: 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

4760-409: 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

4845-519: 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

4930-449: 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

5015-437: 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

5100-406: 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

5185-492: 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

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5270-874: 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,

5355-580: The most severe transatlantic crises of the Cold War . The construction of the pipeline was also subject to a United States Congressional hearing investigating the use of imported Vietnamese labor from re-education camps to build the pipeline. The pipeline's first accident occurred even before the project began. On 15 December 1983, a fire broke out at a compressor station in Urengoy, destroying electronic monitoring devices and control panels, but no one

5440-438: 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

5525-586: 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

5610-430: 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

5695-428: 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

5780-520: 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

5865-611: 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

5950-682: The peripheral areas of the field, such as the Aneryakhinskaya and Kharvutinskaya areas. The main export pipeline from the Yamburg field is called the Progress pipeline. OPEC The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries ( OPEC , / ˈ oʊ p ɛ k / OH -pek ) is a cartel enabling the co-operation of leading oil-producing and oil-dependent countries in order to collectively influence

6035-619: The pipeline were installed by Alcatel of France. The pipeline utilizes 85 dual CCTV stations for telecommunications. The Russian section of this pipeline is operated by Gazprom and the Ukrainian section is operated by UkrTransGaz . On 1 June 2022, 41.2 million cubic meters were transmitted through Ukraine. Soviet plans to build the pipeline were strongly opposed by the US-administration of Ronald Reagan . Americans were afraid that Western Europe would become dependent on

6120-457: The pipeline were made by Right Sector leader Dmytro Yarosh in March 2014. Another section of the pipeline exploded in the Poltava region on June 17, 2014, one day after Russia limited the supply of gas to Ukrainian customers due to non-payment. Ukraine's Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said the next day, that the explosion had been caused by a bomb. An explosion on part of the pipeline in

6205-609: The pipeline. The pipeline runs from Siberia's Urengoy gas field via a compressor plant at Pomar in Mari El to Uzhhorod in Western Ukraine. From there, the natural gas is transported to Central and Western European countries. Together with the Soyuz  [ de ] ( Orenburg –Western border) pipeline and Progres ( Yamburg –Western border) pipeline it forms the western transit corridor in Ukraine. It passes through

6290-638: The pipeline. The foreign ministers of the European Economic Community called extension of the American sanctions illegal and sent a formal note of protest. From the European perspective, participation in the pipeline project was seen as an opportunity for the depressed steel and engineering industry in Europe and as a way to diversify from the OPEC oil supplies. Western European governments insisted that contracts already signed between

6375-675: 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

6460-519: 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

6545-519: 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

6630-623: 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

6715-468: 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

6800-577: 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

6885-686: 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

6970-648: Was injured. On 7 May 2007, the pipeline exploded near the village of Luka, then in Tarashcha Raion of Kyiv Oblast , damaging a 30 metres (98 ft) section. Another explosion happened on 6 December 2007 near the village of Tiahun. A terrorist explosion damaged the pipeline in Rozhniativ district in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast in May 2014. According to the Russian government owned radio station Voice of Russia terrorist threats against

7055-612: 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

7140-557: 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

7225-484: 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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