By The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has appointed Haitham Al Ghais as its new secretary-general.
Al Ghais, a Kuwaiti oil and gas veteran, succeeds Nigeria’s Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo who died on July 5 at the age of 63.
In a statement on Monday, OPEC confirmed the appointment of its new scribe who had earlier been appointed on January 3 to take over from Barkindo whose tenure was billed to end on July 31.
“Al Ghais, is a widely respected oil technocrat and OPEC figure with 30 years of experience in the oil sector,” the statement read in part.
“He advised six Kuwaiti oil ministers on market developments and has served as Kuwait’s governor for OPEC, chairman of the Declaration of Cooperation’s (DoC) Joint Technical Committee (JTC) and Kosovo Prosecutorial Council (KPC) deputy managing director for international marketing.”
Al Ghais, who formally assumed office on Monday and held his first town hall meeting at the OPEC secretariat, expressed readiness to work with stakeholders to ensure inclusive energy in all member countries.
“It is a great honour for me to be at the helm of an organization that has been instrumental in supporting a stable and sustainable supply of oil to the world for more than 61 years,” he was quoted as saying in the statement.
