Nozari gets Iran approval for Opec job

Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi named Gholamhossein Nozari, a former oil minister of the Islamic republic, as the nation’s candidate for the position of Opec secretary general, the state-run Mehr News agency reported.

Iran is the fourth member of the 12-nation Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries to propose a candidate for the role, which will be discussed when the group meets in Vienna on June 14.

Opec’s current secretary-general, Abdalla el-Badri of Libya, will complete his second three-year term at the end of this year.

Nozari’s nomination contradicts a statement from Hussain al-Shahristani, Iraq’s deputy prime minister for energy affairs, which said Iran would back Iraq’s candidate Thamir Ghadhban. Iraq maintains close ties with Iran, which has tense relations with its Gulf neighbours.

Iran and Iraq are Opec’s second and third biggest producers, respectively, after Saudi Arabia, which has boosted supplies as US and European sanctions against Iran curb the Gulf state’s exports.

Opec produced 31.62 million barrels a day in April, 5% more than its 30m barrel-a-day ceiling, according to estimates from the group’s secretariat.

Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest crude exporter, nominated Majid al-Moneef, its Opec governor, as head of the producer group.

Bloomberg