Iran to field candidate for OPEC top post
The oil minister says that Iran will introduce a candidate for the post of the OPEC secretary general to be decided on later this month.
Rostam Ghasemi, who is in Iraq for oil talks, said that Iran will field its candidate for the OPEC secretary general post, adding the oil meeting will decide on that on June 14, Fars News Agency reported on Monday.
He said that Iran is asking for OPEC to maintain the production ceiling in its mid-June session, adding the next meeting of members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in Vienna will pick a new secretary general and that Iran will name its candidate for the job.
The tenure of Abdullah al-Badri, the current OPEC chief, would come to an end this year. The members should put forward a new secretary general for the oil organization. Al-Badri used to take an oil office in Libya.
Saudi Arabia and Iraq have so far announced that they would run for the post after they revealed their choices. Ecuador has said that it has plans to introduce a candidate for taking the helm at OPEC.
OPEC has 12 members and its secretary general is picked through a consensus by members.
The June meeting of OPEC will also discuss developments of the oil market.
This comes as oil prices have dropped drastically on the global downturn in the U.S. and Europe with OPEC prices hitting below 100 dollars in a barrel.