OPEC was established Baghdad, Iraq on September 14, 1960. The organization is based upon petroleum and natural gas. OPEC was formed when the international oil market was largely dominated by a group of multinational companies known as the ‘seven sister’. A country to show for example is Venezuela where it is the world’s fifth largest oil exporting country and has the world’s largest proven oil reserves at an estimated 296.5 billion barrels as of 2012. OPEC’s mandate is to “coordinate and unify the petroleum policies” of its members and to “ensure the stabilization of oil markets in order to secure an efficient, economic and regular supply of petroleum to consumers, a steady income to producers, and a fair return on capital for those investing in the petroleum industry.