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.
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.
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