Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is an international organization of the world's major oil exporting countries. According to its statute it aims to coordinate and unify the petroleum policies of its Member Countries and 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 . The formation of the cartel was a response to the imposition of import quotas by the United States on the Venezuelan and Middle Eastern oil in 1959, which led to falling prices of the product in these regions. Since them the union strives to regulate its oil output to raise and stabilize the prices. Learn more about the multinational organization of the oil-exporting countries, its history, goals and petroleum politics in this book.