OPEC’s secretary general-elect said on Monday a top priority for him is to keep the group’s pact with Russia and other producers in place, since it is in the wider interest of the oil industry.

OPEC on Monday agreed to appoint Haitham al-Ghais, a former Kuwaiti governor to OPEC, as its new secretary general, to succeed Nigeria’s Mohammad Barkindo. Al-Ghais will take over the role on Aug. 1.

The OPEC+ alliance between OPEC and other oil producers, called the Declaration of Cooperation, has helped support the global oil market since 2017 when it was set up.

“That’s one of my top priorities – to support the continuation of this Declaration of Cooperation,” al-Ghais told Reuters, asked if he supported keeping the pact into 2023.

“It’s in the wider interest of the industry and all the 23 countries that have signed up to this agreement.”
Source: Reuters