OPEC

[oh-pek]

noun

1. an organization founded in 1960 of nations that export large amounts of petroleum: formed to establish oil-exporting policies and set prices.

OPEC

/ ˈəʊˌpɛk /

acronym

1. Organization of Petroleum-Exporting Countries: an organization formed in 1961 to administer a common policy for the sale of petroleum. Its members are Algeria, Angola, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. Ecuador and Gabon were members but withdrew in 1992 and 1995 respectively

Word History and Origins

Origin of OPEC¹

O(rganization of ) P(etroleum) E(xporting) C(ountries)

Example Sentences

—Oil prices climbed after OPEC+ members decided to leave output steady and as traders monitor geopolitical tensions in Eastern Europe and Venezuela.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Oil prices surged more than one percent after OPEC+ confirmed it would not hike output in the first three months of 2026.

Read more on Barron's

OPEC+ confirmed a pause on oil production hikes for the first quarter of 2026 due to expected weaker market conditions.

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OPEC+ confirmed a pause on oil production hikes for the first quarter of 2026 due to expected weaker market conditions.

Read more on Barron's

After years of slashing output to prop up prices, key members of the OPEC+ group, including Saudi Arabia and Russia, surprised markets earlier this year by hiking production to levels very few had anticipated.

Read more on Barron's