OPEC: Barkindo Bows Out, Al-Ghais Takes Over as Secretary General

By Uche Mbah

The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has elected a new Secretary General. He is the Kuwaiti candidate, Haitham Al-Ghais. He replaces Nigeria’s Sanusi Barkindo.

Barkindo’s tenure ends in July.

Al-Ghais was elected at a special meeting convened via  video-conference on Monday, January 3, 2022.

In a statement Monday,

The International Oil Cartel invoked article 28 of their statute to back up the decision to replace Barkindo.

“In accordance with Article 28 of the OPEC Statute and in the application of the procedure decided at the 182nd Meeting of the Conference on 1 December 2021, the Conference decided by acclamation to appoint Mr Haitham Al-Ghais of Kuwait as Secretary-General of the Organization, with effect from 1 August 2022, for a period of three years,” the statement reads.

“Mr Al-Ghais, a veteran of the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) and Kuwait’s OPEC Governor from 2017 to June 2021, currently serves as Deputy Managing Director for International Marketing at KPC. He Chaired the Joint Technical Committee (JTC) of the Declaration of Cooperation (DoC) in 2017 and subsequently served as a Member of the JTC until June 2021.”

OPEC, expressed appreciation to the outgoing Secretary General, Barkindo, who is rounding up his second term.

“A long-serving veteran of Nigeria’s oil industry and OPEC, Mr Barkindo has been instrumental in expanding OPEC’s historical efforts to support sustainable oil market stability through enhanced dialogue and cooperation with many energy stakeholders, including the landmark DoC since its inception in December 2016. These efforts are widely credited with helping to stabilize the global oil market since the unprecedented market downturn related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and providing a platform for recovery,” the statement said.

“Before being appointed Secretary-General, Mr Barkindo held a number of key roles at OPEC between 1986 and 2010, including as Acting Secretary-General in 2006. He is known internationally for helping to produce the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol as the leader of Nigeria’s technical delegation to the UN negotiations in 1991. He has remained a key contributor to the UNFCCC process, including most recently at the 26th Conference of Parties (COP) meeting in Glasgow in October and November 2021.”