OPEC stands for “Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Counties.” It is a cartel made up of 12 countries: Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela.

These countries produce much of the oil that the rest of the world buys, so they’ve banded together to ensure that everyone receives a fair price for their oil. The oil ministers of the member countries meet regularly in Vienna to discuss oil prices and production.