Luanda – The Oil Minister, José Maria Botelho de Vasconcelos, is attending this Thursday at 3 p.m in Viena city in Austria the 161st Ordinary Conference of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

The meeting will be topped by the discussion of the oil super production, in particular of Saudi Arabia.

 
The event will also discuss issues related to the international economic slowdown and eventual embargo to Iranian oil.

The meeting will be attended by oil ministers and delegates from the 12 member states of OPEC.

In December last year, OPEC) agreed to pump 30 million barrels per day (bpd) but the target was never adhered to and production has risen to almost 32 million bpd, a four-year high, despite sanctions against Iranian crude exports.

OPEC was founded in Baghdad, Iraq, with the signing of an agreement in September 1960 by five countries namely Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. They were to become the Founder Members of the Organization.These countries were later joined by Qatar (1961), Indonesia (1962), Libya (1962), the United Arab Emirates (1967), Algeria (1969), Nigeria (1971), Ecuador (1973), Gabon (1975) and Angola (2007).

From December 1992 until October 2007, Ecuador suspended its membership. Gabon terminated its membership in 1995. Indonesia suspended its membership effective January 2009.

Currently, the Organization has a total of 12 Member Countries.