Iran's OPEC governor to be replaced within days, ministry says

Tehran: Iran's OPEC Governor Hossein Kazempour Ardebili is stepping down and will be replaced in coming days, an Iranian official said.

His replacement is "most probably" Mohammad Ali Khatibi Tabatabi, said a spokesman from Iran's Oil Ministry who declined to be identified by name.

"The official order for the replacement will be made in a day or two,'' he said in a telephone interview from Tehran today.

Iran pumped 3.98 million barrels a day last month, according to Bloomberg estimates, and is the second-largest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, after Saudi Arabia.

Each OPEC state has a representative on the organization's board of governors.