At $70 a barrel, business is booming for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. So much so that they’re thinking of adding members to their cartel: Bolivia, Ecuador, Sudan, and Angola.

The reasons are obvious:

The benefits could include reversing a trend in which OPEC’s share of world production has slipped from a high of 55 percent in the early 1970s to currently about 42 percent.

Some of the candidates look particularly attractive: Angola already produces 1.25 million barrels a day and expects to reach 2 million by 2008; Ecuador has proven oil reserves of 4.6 billion barrels and exported 70 percent of its 538,000 barrels a day in 2005; Sudan has doubled its proven reserves in five years.

With more members, the burden of reducing output would be lighter for each country when it comes time to cut. For the nonmembers, the advantages of joining are few beyond the prestige of rubbing elbows with some of the world’s most powerful oil exporters.

As long as they’re handing out invitations, why not see if they’ll admit Texas? I’m sure the state government in Austin would go for it.

Actually, I’m crossing my fingers for helium-rich territories (like the Lone Star State) around the globe to someday unite and form the Organization of Helium-Exporting Countries, only so we could amuse ourselves with the resultant acronym.