2002 - OPEC

Public Relations and Information Department
The Public Relations and Information Department (PRID) had another busy year in 2002. With the
early months of the year being characterized by low oil prices in the wake of the terrorist attacks on
the USA of September 11, 2001, co-operation between OPEC and non-OPEC nations in restraining
output to restore stability to the oil market became of paramount importance. PRID played a vital
part in ensuring that this message was communicated to and understood by the international
community. As the year unfolded and prices stabilized within the OPEC price band of $22–28/b
— thanks in large part to the effective co-operation between OPEC and non-OPEC — the Department
also retained a strong focus on its traditional role of communicating news and information about the
Organization and its Member Countries to a global audience via the OPEC News Agency (OPECNA), its
publications such as the OPEC Bulletin and the OPEC Review, the OPEC website and other channels.
PRID’s constant campaign to boost the Organization’s profile also involved the preparation of a large
number of speeches and other materials for delivery by senior OPEC officials at high-visibility events
on the international stage.
The OPECNA, has continued to transmit information about the Organization and its Member Countries to
the international community. OPECNA’s bulletins include reports, analyses and features, with a strong
emphasis on OPEC Member Countries and developing and emerging economies. The news service
carries information on OPEC Member Countries oil, energy and economic development topics, and
offers exclusive coverage of the Organization’s daily and weekly basket prices, as well as the official
communiqués issued by the OPEC Conference. It also covers stories on energy, trade, debt, as well as
bilateral and multilateral negotiations, particularly as they affect developing countries.
The Agency currently runs three daily transmissions during the working week. Its list of paying subscribers
includes the major international wire services, other media, energy market analysts, researchers,
institutions and individuals. The daily services are distributed via direct leased lines, electronic mail,
fax, and regular mail, to subscribers worldwide. Subscription is mainly based on four categories:
1) News Agencies and media institutions, which serve as a carrier to a wide range of destinations.
The service is formatted to fit the needs of these agencies and transmitted via leased lines
connected directly from the Secretariat’s Headquarters to the offices of the recipients in London,
Paris and Germany.
2) Subscription on royalty basis. Those are subscribers/agencies that receive the service and
feed it into their information database systems. Payment is made to OPECNA on the basis of
the number of accesses made to the database.
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