Cracks in the Cartel
Column Published in syndication April 29, 2026In 1960, five major oil producing countries (Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela) formed the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). The idea was to coordinate production to stabilize prices, countering market power then held by large multinational oil companies. OPEC is a cartel, which is simply a group of independent businesses or countries that collude to fix prices or output. As production by non-OPEC members (especially the United States) has risen, the ability to control prices has been somewhat diluted, but OPEC remains a powerful force.