The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries was founded in 1960 by five original members Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Venezuela, and Saudi Arabia. It has since grown by seven members including Angola, Algeria, UAE, Ecuador, Libya, Nigeria, and Qatar. OPEC was in part formed to put the oil resources of its member states under the control of the respective national governments and not in the hands of large oil corporations.
The organization has been very successful at putting tremendous amounts of wealth into the member nations local economies. One example of this was a deal announced today with Airbus Industries to purchase 32 A380 the largest aircraft in the world by Emirates Air. The price per aircraft was not disclosed however if list price was paid for the A380's the deal would be worth a staggering 11.5 billion dollars. Two of the fastest growing airlines come from OPEC nations in an airline industry that has struggled to produce a profit.
This is just one of many examples of how the global playing field has been transformed in part due to the shift of profits from big oil companies into the national coffers. One of the interesting aspects of the visit and discussion session at OPEC was a message that OPEC wants to preserve oil reserves for future generations to come. It seemed as though little thought has been put into the pace at which the world is turning away from petroleum based fuels and while no countries economy will be eliminating fossil fuels completly in the near future that day will eventually come. Where will OPEC be when this day arrives?
Another interesting aspect of the OPEC visit was the reasoning behind OPEC's choice of Vienna, Austria as its home base. Austria was selected over Geneva, Swiztzerland in part due to substantial contributions and tax incentives by the Austrian Government. The fact that Austria is considered a neutral country and its central location played a part in OPEC's decision to locate its global headquarters in Vienna as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment