Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. This book evolves because 1980 marked the twentieth anniversary of the founding of Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and because the response to a special issue on OPEC of the Journal of Energy and Development had been exceptional. The OPEC's Secretary General René Ortiz offers the underlying rationale for the Organization's policies and spells out its priorities. The internationally recognized petroleum specialist J. E. Hartshorn asks the usually unasked question of whether, in the absence of additional political crises, OPEC face difficulties in increasing the real prices of oil. The Dean of the College of Industrial Management at the University of Petroleum and Minerals in Saudi Arabia, Ali D. Johany, argues persuasively that the near-obsession by many who hold OPEC per se responsible for the onset and depth of the energy and global economic problems clouds the real issue.