Vienna: Haitham Al Ghais on Monday took office as Secretary-General of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) at the Organisation’s Secretariat in Vienna, Austria.
Al Ghais was appointed by acclamation for a three-year term at the Special Meeting of the OPEC Conference held on January 3, 2022.
He succeeds the late Secretary-General of OPEC, Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo.
Al Ghais – an oil technocrat and well-known OPEC figure – brings a wealth of experience from both his diplomatic background as well as his extensive experience in the energy and oil sectors in both Kuwait and internationally.
In a career in the global oil industry spanning 30 years, he has served as Kuwait’s Governor for OPEC from 2017 to 2021. He was also a Member of the Organisation’s Internal Audit Committee, which he later chaired.
Al Ghais was a leading member of Kuwait’s Delegation to the meetings of OPEC and the Declaration of Cooperation (DoC) between OPEC Member Countries and non-OPEC oil-producing countries.
He was the first Chairman of the DoC’s Joint Technical Committee (JTC) following the inception of the historic framework in December 2016.
Al Ghais is also a veteran of the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC). He served at KPC’s offices in Kuwait, Beijing, China and London. Before taking the position of OPEC Secretary-General, he was the Deputy Managing Director for International Marketing at KPC.
