BENJAMIN OMOIKE
Haitham Al-Ghais of Kuwait Monday assumed office as the new Secretary General of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
His assumption of office is coming 26 days after the demise of his predecessor, Nigeria’s Mohammed Barkindo.
Al-Ghais was appointed as the new chief of the Vienna-headquartered OPEC in January this year and his tenure will last for three years.
Al-Ghais said he looked forward to “working with all our member countries and our many partners around the world to ensure a sustainable and inclusive energy future which leaves no one behind.”
An OPEC press release states that Al-Ghais served as Deputy Managing Director for International Marketing at the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC), before taking up the role of OPEC chief.
He was also Kuwait’s governor for OPEC from 2017 to 2021.
Al-Ghais succeeded the late OPEC Chief, Nigeria’s Mohammad Barkindo, who died on July 5.
Late Barkindo was appointed Secretary General of OPEC in June 2016 for a period of three years, but took office in August. 1, 2016, succeeding the Libyan Abdallah Salem el-Badri, who had been Secretary General since 2007.
Barkindo, who steered the group through the creation of the OPEC plus Alliance, was due to step down at the end of this month after six years at the OPEC top job.
