Non-OPEC Members
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is an intergovernmental organization made up of 15 nations that are primarily responsible for regulating global oil production and prices. OPEC was established in 1960 with its headquarters located in Vienna, Austria. The members of OPEC are Algeria, Angola, Congo, Ecuador, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait , Libya , Nigeria , Qatar , Saudi Arabia , United Arab Emirates and Venezuela . Together these countries account for over 80% of the world’s total crude oil reserves.
While OPEC plays an important role in influencing global energy markets there are many non-OPEC member countries which also play a role in the global market for oil and gas production. These countries include Russia (the world’s largest producer), China (the second largest producer), Canada (third largest producer), Norway (fourth largest producer), Mexico (fifth largest producer) as well as Brazil and Kazakhstan among others. In addition to these major producers there are many smaller players such as Colombia and Azerbaijan who have recently become significant producers within their respective regions due to increased investment into their respective industries.
Although they do not belong to OPEC each country has different policies when it comes to how they approach the extraction or use of natural resources domestically or abroad through various trading agreements or foreign direct investments by multinational companies operating within their borders. Non-OPEC members often cooperate with one another on certain initiatives including joint ventures related to exploration & development projects as well as marketing strategies for pricing goods on a regional basis rather than a purely competitive manner like some larger exporters tend to do around the globe
