OPEC countries, Russia to cut oil output, pushing up prices

News:The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries(OPEC) and Russia has reached a deal deepening their output cuts.This deal is aimed at reducing surplus oil and to bolster crude prices.

Facts:

About OPEC:

• The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries(OPEC) is a permanent, intergovernmental Organization.
• It was created at the Baghdad Conference in 1960 by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.It has its headquarters in Vienna, Austria.
• OPEC aims to manage the supply of oil in an effort to set the price of oil on the world market and to avoid fluctuations that might affect the economies of both producing and purchasing countries.
• According to its statutes,OPEC membership is open to any country that is a substantial exporter of oil and which shares the ideals of the organization.
• The current OPEC members are: (a)Algeria (b)Angola (c)Ecuador (d)Equatorial Guinea (e)Gabon (f)Iran (g)Iraq (h)Kuwait, (I)Libya (j)Nigeria (k)the Republic of the Congo (l)Saudi Arabia (j)United Arab Emirates and (k)Venezuela.

Additional information:

India’s Dependence on Oil:

• India is the world’s third largest oil importer.It imports over 80 percent of oil requirements.
• Saudi Arabia has traditionally been India’s top oil source but it was for the first time dethroned by Iraq in the 2017-18 fiscal year.
• With its high dependence on imports,India has remained vulnerable to volatility in the global crude oil market.
• However,India has been reducing its dependence on the OPEC countries.It has diversified its sources by increasing its shipments from the US.
• Further,the government is also focusing on measures like increasing domestic production, promoting the use of bio fuel and energy conservation to reduce dependence on imported crude oil.