ABSTRACT
The establishment of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in 1960 marked the beginning of cooperation among the crude-oil exporting countries. In their Declaratory Statement of Petroleum Policy, member countries stated that changing circumstances justified "revision of existing, as well as future, contracts and concession arrangements to exercise their participation in ownership. They advocated that prices should be determined by the government and should guarantee no deterioration in the price of oil. In Resolution 26 of their policy statement, member countries contended that "foreign oil operators should not have the right to excessively high net earnings after taxes; excess profits as determined by the government shall be paid by the operator to the government.1
