Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, Volume XXXIV, Energy Diplomacy and Global Issues

222. Memorandum From the Director of the Office of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Yemen Affairs (Brewer) to the Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs (Battle)¹

Washington, August 1, 1968.

SUBJECT

• Slow Start for Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC)

OAPEC, formed by Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Libya after the Khartoum summit conference last fall² to coordinate the oil policies of those states for which petroleum is the major export, recently held a disappointing preliminary meeting of oil ministers in Beirut on July 25. The Libyan Minister of Petroleum failed to attend the meeting, which was to have named a secretary general and set up working committees, and the Saudi and Kuwaiti ministers were able to accomplish little in his absence.

Libya has approved but not yet ratified the OAPEC charter. While this may have been a factor in the Libyan “no show”, a more likely reason was concern that Saudi Arabia and Kuwait would pressure Libya to slow down its rapidly expanding crude oil production, already partly responsible for a substantial decline in Saudi and Kuwaiti production in June. Having been subject to heavy pressure from his two Arab counterparts at the OPEC in Vienna in late June, the Libyans evidently decided to avoid what would have been another unpleasant round of lecturing.

OAPEC was formed chiefly to give the conservative, oil-rich states a pan-Arab “umbrella” under which pressures from the radical Arab states might more easily be resisted. (Iraq is eligible for membership under the OAPEC charter, but the UAR, Algeria, and Syria are excluded). But the members do compete and may find it difficult to coordinate their varying interests now that pressure from the radical states has subsided following the Khartoum arrangement to provide budget subsidies to the UAR.

1. Source: National Archives and Records Administration, RG 59, Records of the Department of State, Central Files, 1967–69, PET 3 OAPEC. Confidential. Drafted by D. Newton.
2. The formation of OAPEC was announced on December 21, 1967, by Saudi Oil Minister Yamani in Riyadh. (Telegram 90419, December 28, 1967; ibid., PET 3 ARAB) See Document 268.