Page 161 - Key to Social Studies 5

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The OPEC in the Past versus Today

The OPEC in the Past

By the initiative of both Iran and Venezuela, the rst step for establishing the OPEC was taken in 1949.

Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Kuwait were then invited to join to develop an organization that handles the

petroleum export.

At that time, the world was recovering from World War II and all its destruction, and the US was the

biggest oil producer and consumer, also handling the majority of oil export.

The OPEC Today

Today, the OPEC holds 12 members, and 79.4% of the world's proven oil reserves are located in OPEC

member countries (according to 2022 statistics).

Venezuela has the highest oil reserve in all of the OPEC members, while Guinea has the least oil reserve.

However, concerning production, Saudi Arabia possesses around 18% of the world’s proven petroleum

reserves and ranks as the largest exporter of petroleum.

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