Nigeria’s Barkindo new OPEC Secretary-General

Vienna : The OPEC oil cartel said yesterday that it had appointed Nigeria’s Mohammed Barkindo as its new Secretary-General.

Barkindo, former head of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp, will replace Libyan Abdallah El-Badri, who has held the position since 2007.

Badri was due to step down in 2012 but has stayed in place because OPEC has been unable to agree on a successor. 

Other candidates were Ali Rodriguez Araque, previously Secretary-General in 2001-2002, and Mahendra Siregar of Indonesia.

“We’ve finally selected the Secretary-General, which is good. He’s highly respected and qualified,” said Saudi Arabian Energy Minister Khaled al-Falih. 

Meanwhile, the 169th Meeting of OPEC was concluded in Vienna, Austria, yesterday. The meeting was held under the Chairmanship of its President, Dr. Mohammed Bin Saleh Al-Sada, Minister of Energy and Industry of Qatar, and Head of its Delegation.

Having reviewed the oil market outlook for 2016, the Conference observed that non-OPEC supply, in response to market dynamics, peaked during 2015 and started declining, with supply expected to further decline by 740,000 barrels per day (b/d) in 2016. Today, crude oil alone is lower by more than 1 million b/d from its peak at the beginning of 2015. Global demand is anticipated to expand by 1.2 mb/d after growing at 1.5 mb/d during 2015. This demand growth remains relatively healthy considering recent economic challenges and developments.

The Conference decided that its next Ordinary Meeting will convene on November 30 in Vienna.