1) Sovereignty over natural resources 

• Historically, OPEC helped Member Countries assert sovereignty over their natural resources. By coordinating policies and backing nationalizations, it strengthened national ownership of hydrocarbons, enabled the rise of national oil companies (NOCs) and provided the fiscal base for Member Countries to finance development and consolidate state institutions. 

• The momentum generated by OPEC’s creation and its subsequent activities would contribute to a fundamental change to international customary law. Two years after the Organization was formed, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 1803 (XVII) on December 14, 1962, establishing the principle of Permanent Sovereignty over Natural Resources (PSNR). The spirit and principles in OPEC’s founding are reflected in the PSNR. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has explicitly endorsed PSNR as customary law. These principles continue to guide our work today.

2) Oil market stability 

• OPEC plays a pivotal role in maintaining balance and stability in the international oil market. This can be viewed in its actions over the years that have helped deliver:

o A more predictable market environment.

o Reduced volatility.

o Stability for markets, which benefits both short- and long-term decision making.

o Stability for Member Countries in making long-term capital intensive investments. 

o Higher growth for the global economy, which in turn may often mean increased oil demand. (OPEC Member Countries hold over 79% of the world’s proven oil reserves)

o Decisions taken to navigate epoch-defining major events, including the downturn caused by the 2008 financial crash, the industry wide downturn in 2014-2016 and the COVID related downturn in 2020.

• The more recent benefits have been quantified in several studies, both from OPEC and external parties.

o OPEC Secretariat study (2023): ‘OPEC’s role in stabilizing the global energy market and its contribution to the global economy’. This shows OPEC’s efforts to stabilize markets from 2017 to 2023 led to a reduction of 31% in oil price volatility and an average annual contribution of $164 billion to global GDP. Additionally, when OPEC stabilizes the market, the GDP remains steady throughout subsequent periods.

o 2021 KAPSARC study (2023): ‘The Value of OPEC’s Spare Capacity to the Oil Market and Global Economy’. Estimates the annual value of OPEC’s spare capacity to the world’s economy at $193.1 billion in 2019 US dollars. Another KAPSARC study from the same year showed a 50% reduction in oil price volatility due to OPEC's interventions, particularly during turbulent times such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

o Oxford Institute for Energy Studies paper (2021): ‘OPEC at 60: The World With and Without OPEC’. Analyzes the period from 1990 to 2018 highlighting that in the absence of OPEC’s spare capacity the cost of supply shortfalls leads to increasingly negative impacts on global GDP across time, with a level of US$185 billion highlighted for 2011. The paper stresses that supply shocks would have been significantly larger and more persistent if OPEC had not existed.

3) The multiplier benefits of oil market stability 

• The progress that the world has undergone since 1960 are often taken for granted.

OPEC has made a very real contribution to humanity’s advances in the last 66 years.

o The global economy is ten times larger than it was in 1960. 

o Global life expectancy was 50 in 1960, now it is over 20 years more.  o Advances in nutrition, sanitation, medicine and infrastructure.

o Petroleum products have been deeply woven into almost every practical system that delivered those gains, from fertilizers, pesticides and transportation of food to health products like syringes and medical supplies.  o A secure and stable supply of oil ensured those petroleum derived products could be made, developed and improved. 

o Future advances in healthcare, technology and other energy sources depend on petroleum products, e.g. hardware for AI and smart devices, mining vehicles and equipment for critical minerals, supply chains for chips, plastics for medical research, vaccine distribution, etc. 

o OPEC’s role will be vital going forward. 

4) Services/advocacy provided by the Secretariat 

• Our high-quality research publications, data-driven analysis, international exposure, dialogues and public relations work are beneficial to Member Countries. They also offer an indispensable tool for OPEC policy makers to take informed decisions about the oil market. 

o Reputable and reliable research and analysis core to OPEC/DoC decisionmaking process. 

o OPEC offers high-level exposure at major industry events/conferences. 

o In the public relations battle, our industry is often demonized and blamed for all the world’s woes. We are proactively and positively countering this narrative through public relations campaigns, reports, advocacy and outreach. 

o Changing perceptions of the oil industry is important for our Member Countries. It can contribute to the further use of oil and improving the investment climate. 

o The OPEC brand provides credibility and respect in advocating for the industry’s interests. 

5) Support for and acting through the multilateral system 

• The OPEC grouping, and the role the Secretariat plays, adds value to multilateral processes.

o UNFCCC, advocating for Member Country priorities and outcomes, providing background for COP meetings.

o Representing Member Country interests in other multilateral processes such as the International Legally Binding Instrument on Plastic Pollution.

o OPEC helps highlight what Member Countries are doing to reduce emissions, alongside helping ensure market stability/energy security.

o Member Country voice in other initiatives/meetings, such as those related to the G20 and G24, IMF/World Bank meetings.

o OPEC’s International Energy Dialogues offer Member Countries a broader outreach to both major producers and consumers.

6) Developing Country/Member Country solidarity 

• It was a brave act for a group of developing countries to form an intergovernmental organization in 1960, and this sense of solidarity remains true today.

o OPEC supports the interests of developing countries in a multitude of ways, from our advocacy of the importance of national circumstances to oil being an integral part of development. 

o At international forums on future energy pathways, OPEC advocates in the interest of developing countries, alongside advocating for oil and its benefits for all people around the world.

o Member Country solidarity through OPEC’s mission and objectives is at the heart of the Organization’s success.