ABSTRACT
This chapter describes Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries' (OPEC) mission and its capacity, followed by its abilities to deal with ISIL's expansion in Syria and northern Iraq. The early beginnings of the OPEC cartel involved Venezuela and Iran approaching Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Kuwait in the late 1940s about having regular meetings to exchange information about oil production and prices. OPEC's establishment was a reaction against the domination of Western conglomerates that controlled and made a lot of money in the global oil business. OPEC significantly influenced world politics by causing an exponential increase in oil prices as a result of its 1973 oil embargo. OPEC's decision-making processes and any possible outcomes severely constrain what the organization can or should do about the spread of ISIL. Internationally, there are conflicting reports about what the outcome of OPEC's strategies will be in relation to the threat of ISIL.
