OPEC rose to international prominence during this decade, as its Member Countries took control of their domestic petroleum industries and began to play a greater role in world oil markets. It adopted a ‘Declaratory Statement of Petroleum Policy in Member Countries’ in 1968, which emphasised the inalienable right of all countries to exercise permanent sovereignty over their natural resources in the interest of their national development. OPEC developed its collective vision, set up its objectives and established its Secretariat, first in Geneva and then, in 1965, in Vienna. The international oil market was dominated by the “Seven Sisters” multinational companies and was largely separate from that of the former Soviet Union (FSU) and other centrally planned economies (CPEs). OPEC’s formation by five oil-producing developing countries in Baghdad in September 1960 occurred at a time of transition in the international economic and political landscape, with extensive decolonisation and the birth of many new independent states in the developing world. OPEC's objective is to co-ordinate and unify petroleum policies among Member Countries, in order to secure fair and stable prices for petroleum producers an efficient, economic and regular supply of petroleum to consuming nations and a fair return on capital to those investing in the industry.

This was moved to Vienna, Austria, on September 1, 1965. OPEC had its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, in the first five years of its existence. The five Founding Members were later joined by: Qatar (1961) – terminated its membership in January 2019 Indonesia (1962) – suspended its membership in January 2009, reactivated it in January 2016, but decided to suspend it again in November 2016 Libya (1962) United Arab Emirates (1967) Algeria (1969) Nigeria (1971) Ecuador (1973) – suspended its membership in December 1992, reactivated it in October 2007, but decided to withdraw its membership effective 1 January 2020 Angola (2007) Gabon (1975) - terminated its membership in January 1995 but rejoined in July 2016 Equatorial Guinea (2017) and Congo (2018). The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is a permanent, intergovernmental Organization, created at the Baghdad Conference on September 10–14, 1960, by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.

Governor issues dominate ad wars