konknaijaboy | On 09, Dec 2013

Diezani Alison-Madueke, minister of petroleum resources, has been elected alternate president of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), while Abdel Bari Ali Al-Arousi, minister of oil and gas of Libya, was elected president.

They are to serve for one year with effect from January 1, 2014.

Alison-Madueke and Al-Arousi were elected at the 164th meeting of the conference of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) which was concluded in Vienna, Austria, late last week, under the chairmanship of its president, Mustafa Jassim Mohammad Al-Shamali, deputy prime minister and minister of oil of the State of Kuwait and head of its delegation.

The conference also appointed Ali Obaid Al Yabhouni, the United Arab Emirates’ governor for OPEC, as chairman of the board of governors for the year 2014, and Bernard Mommer, Venezuelan governor for OPEC, as alternate chairman for the same period with effect from January 1, 2014.

The conference decided to extend the tenure of Abdalla S. El-Badri as secretary general for a period of one year with effect from January 1, 2014.

The conference next ordinary meeting will convene in Vienna, Austria, on Wednesday, June 11, 2014.

It reviewed the oil market outlook, in particular supply/demand projections for 2014, considering the global economic outlook, noting the high sovereign debt in the Euro-zone; high unemployment in the advanced economies, especially the Euro-zone; and slow growth, coupled with inflation risk, in the emerging economies.