Oil supply management practices the organization of petrloleum exporting countries (OPEC) under the WTO rules and the national competion laws

OPEC is a permanent intergovernmental organisation, currently consisting of twelve oil producing and exporting countries, spread across three continets: America, Asia and Africa. The main goal of OPEC is the coordination and unification of the petrolium politics of its Member Countries, working out ways and means of ensuring the stabilization of prices in international oil markets with due regard being given to the interests of the producing nations and to the necessity of securing a steady income to the producing countries; an efficient, economic and regular supply of petroleum to consuming nations; and a fair return on capital to those investing in the petroleum industry.

The bulk of regulation comes under domestic law and the role of regional and global law in addressing energy and secure production and supplies has remained unclear und unsettled.

There are also unresolved and basic issues related to competition policy and thus about the relationship of WTO law and OPEC as a producer organisation. The crucial question is whether oil exporters, when they join the WTO, will still be able to support oil prices through the regulation of oil production, or whether they could face challenges on the basis of GATTA/WTO rules and provisions. This leads to the question of whether additional WTO rules on competition are required to properly address the relationship between trade and production in the energy sector.

Negotiations on the framework agreement on energy would enable Members to address all the pertinent problems such as competition and state trading. It would allow the relationship between trade and regulation of production, and thus of WTO and OPEC, to be defined.