Established in 1960 by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, and Venezuela, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was created to control the price of oil by controlling the volume of production. Modeled on the Texas Railroad Commission in the United States, the group was also intended to make other decisions about petroleum policy and to provide technical and economic support to its members. Indonesia, Libya, Qatar, Algeria, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates have been admitted since 1960, and it is now estimated that the nations in OPEC control nearly three-quarters of the world's oil reserves.

In October 1973, members of OPEC met at their headquarters in Vienna and voted to raise oil prices by 70%. OPEC is dominated by oil-producing countries from the Middle East, and this decision was designed to retaliate against Western support of Israel during its war with Egypt...