OPEC and the post-war evolution of the oil industry, part 1: The birth of OPEC

Continuing our 90th anniversary deep dive into the history of oil, the first part of our second chapter covers the post-war world and the beginnings of OPEC

OPEC has had a turbulent history since its inception in 1960. It is an organisation that has at times exercised enormous power over global oil markets, not least in the historic year 1973, when it controlled 50% of the global oil supply and by extension had enormous influence on the global economy. This influence was demonstrated by the huge increases in the price of oil that followed the Yom Kippur War.   Despite the rise of several competitors, principally the North Sea, Canada, Brazil, and the US, OPEC today retains a 32% share of production and, despite many predictions of its demise, its power is still considerable. Indeed, since the signing of the Declaration of Cooperation in 2016—whi