Top oil-producing countries on Monday picked Kuwaiti oil executive Haitham al-Ghais as the next Secretary-General of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
He will replace Nigeria’s Mohammed Barkindo, who took over the helm
of the organisation in 2016 and led it for two terms.
Al-Ghais, who was Kuwait’s OPEC governor from 2017 to June 2021,
serves as a Deputy Managing Director of the Kuwait Petroleum
Corporation (KPC).
His decades of experience in the industry include stints in Beijing and
London for the state oil corporation.
OPEC said in a statement that al-Ghais was appointed by acclamation
and will take up his three-year post on August 1.
During Barkindo’s tenure, the group drastically slashed oil output in
2020 as the coronavirus pandemic hit global markets.
Last year, OPEC and 10 allies including Russia began to gradually open
the tabs again, and prices have bounced back.
