This week in history

September 10, 1960, the Organization of the Petroleum Countries (OPEC) was formed as a permanent intergovernmental organization. The four-day meeting in Baghdad, Iraq, involved the five founding members, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. Over the years several other nations joined OPEC. For the first five years, OPEC had its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. In 1965, it moved to Vienna, Austria.

According to the Office of the Historian, United States Department of State, at the time of OPEC formation in 1960, “The policy of the United States is to encourage the free movement of petroleum by private enterprise in world trade. Although pro-rationing originated in the United States, in 1931 in East Texas, and continues to exist in seven major oil producing states in the U.S., it bears no relationship to pro-rationing by Middle East countries.”

Source(s):OPEC and US Department of State

Compiled by Bob Valen