Venezuela Helped Build OPEC. Now It May Help Break It Apart
Venezuela helped create OPEC. More than six decades later, it is considering walking away, and Washington appears perfectly happy to hold open the door.
Why It Matters
This story touches on opec, venezuela, helped — topics readers are actively tracking. Review and add editorial context before publishing.
Key Facts
- Fact 1: Venezuela produced about 1.117 million barrels per day (bpd) in July according to OPEC’s secondary sources, and is currently exempt from OPEC production quotas after years of sanctions, underinvestment and economic turmoil gutted output.
- Fact 2: But Venezuela was one of OPEC’s five founding members in 1960 and played a central role in assembling the organization, and its departure would come just months after the United Arab Emirates quit following years of frustration over production restrictions.
- Fact 3: Together, the UAE, Venezuela, and Iraq represent more than 7 million bpd of production capacity, roughly 32% of capacity held by OPEC’s members, according to OPEC’s latest Monthly Oil Market Report.
- Fact 4: Just Venezuela and the UAE alone account for 4.9 million bpd.
Venezuela helped create OPEC. More than six decades later, it is considering walking away, and Washington appears perfectly happy to hold open the door.
Caracas is weighing whether to leave the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, Bloomberg reported Friday, citing people familiar with discussions that have included U.S. officials. No final decision has been made.
(Original synthesis pending human/AI review — generated by the stub provider by selecting real sentences from the source material, not by writing new analysis or commentary.)