Haitham Al-Ghais of Kuwait has taken over as the new secretary general of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries on Monday.
He is the first Kuwaiti to hold the position of OPEC chief, and will head the group for three years. He will replace Nigerian Mohammad Barkindo, who died in July.
Speaking to a new agency in Kuwait, he said the unanimous selection of him by OPEC’s 13 member countries reflects Kuwait’s position among them.
Al-Ghais served as Kuwait’s OPEC governor for four years, representing the country during meetings of the board of governors. He also chaired its joint technical committee with countries outside the organization.
He was appointed deputy director of international marketing at the state-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corp. after stepping down as Kuwait’s OPEC governor in June 2021.
Prior to OPEC, he worked at the KPC’s global marketing sector in various sales departments, headed its regional offices in Beijing and London, and was director of the corporation’s research department and deputy managing director of global marketing.
Al-Ghais has nearly 30 years of experience in the oil industry, and has participated in many international conferences and forums.
