In its defense, the organization was founded as a counterweight against the previous "Seven Sisters" cartel of multinational oil companies, and non-OPEC energy suppliers have maintained enough market share for a substantial degree of worldwide competition.
U prilog njihovom stavu ide činjenica da je organizacija osnovana kao protiveža protiv prethodnog kartela „sedam sestara” multinacionalnih naftnih kompanija, i da su snabdevači energije izvan OPEC-a održali dovoljan udeo tržišta da predstavljaju značajan stepen svetske konkurencije.