OPEC (the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) unites thirteen countries (as of 2021). The history of the organization started in the fall of 1960 in Baghdad. Today, it is headquartered in Vienna, Austria.
The OPEC logo (flag) consists of four shapes that can be described as circles (or as modified circles, in the case of the shapes positioned lower). In between the circles, there is a stick.
There are at least two main interpretations of the flag.
First, you can notice that each of the circles represents one of the letters of the organization’s name. The first circle is the “O,” the second circle together with the stick form the “P.” The “E” is formed by the circle in the lower-left corner, while the “C” is formed by the circle in the lower right corner. The letters are highly stylized, so one probably wouldn’t decipher them unless they knew the name of the organization.
The flag can also be interpreted as a stylized representation of the oil well (the stick in the middle being the oil drill string).
In 2009, OPEC held a contest for the 50th Anniversary logo, which would come in 2010. The staff of the OPEC Secretariat, National Representatives, and Member Country Governors had to pick up only one logo out of over 400 entries that had come from nationals of OPEC Member Countries.
The author of the logo that won the competition was Lourdes Pilay Garcia of Ecuador.
The name of the organization is given in highly stylized letters that do not belong to any font but were drawn specifically for the logo.
The majority of the space on the OPEC logo is covered by blue. The blue serves as the background for the white design.