OPEC

The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries is a producers’ cartel which attempts to influence both the supply and the price of oil. It was most effective in the 1970s, quadrupling the oil price and contributing to the stagflation of the era. Its influence waned after that era as new producers like Norway emerged and America developed its shale oil reserves. But OPEC’s decisions (these days taken after consultation with Russia and other producers, in a forum known as OPEC+) still matter.