ABSTRACT
The role of the oil sector as an engine of development has changed in breadth and emphasis over the years, to the extent to which the sector has been closely and effectively related to development effort, and to the extent that it has been closely and effectively integrated first with the economies of the oil-exporting countries, and then with the economies of the other Arab countries. The oil-exporting countries include one or two with the highest per capita Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the world. Three policy areas within this wide range had vast financial implications for Organization Of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). They are determination of the volume of production and exports, determination of the export price of oil, and determination of the terms under which foreign companies were to operate, particularly with reference to the rebates or commissions which they were to enjoy for every barrel of oil lifted by them.
