Kuwait nominates former governor as new OPEC chief

Kuwait has nominated its former governor to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Haitham al-Ghais, to lead the oil producer group after Mohammad Barkindo’s term as secretary general, two sources close to the matter said, according to Reuters.

Nigerian Barkindo, whose is due to step down at the end of July next year, took OPEC’s top job in mid-2016 and was granted a second three-year term in 2019.

Al-Ghais is the only candidate to be nominated so far, the sources said.

Al-Ghais stepped down as Kuwait’s OPEC governor in June this year and was appointed deputy managing director of international marketing at state-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC).

He was previously in charge of KPC’s regional offices in Beijing and London before becoming governor to OPEC in 2017.