OPEC includes 12 members on 3 continents. The founding members (1960) are Venezuela, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait who are all still part of OPEC. Several other oil-producing nations joined thereafter the organization: Qatar (1961), Indonesia (1962-2009; it ceased to be a net oil exporter), Libya (1969), Algeria (1970), Nigeria (1971), Ecuador (1973-1992; it left the organization in order to avoid production quotas and rejoined in 2007), The United Arab Emirates (1973), Gabon (1973-1994) and Angola (2007).