In September 1960, representatives from Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela gathered in Baghdad, Iraq. By the time the meeting concluded, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) had formed. Its goal was to defend the price of oil and eliminate price fluctuations, with 'due regard being given at all times to the interests of oil-producing nations and to the necessity of securing a steady income for them.' The history of OPEC reflects the growing importance of oil in the global economy. "The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries" explores how oil moves from the ground to the gas pump, how the price of that oil is determined, and oil's role in international politics and in the countries where it is discovered. OPEC's history, structure, successes and failures in fulfilling its mission, and the ways in which it has used oil as a tool of foreign policy are also discussed.