Members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries are set to
meet in Vienna next month to start the process of selecting a new
secretary general, OPEC delegates said Thursday.
A panel, set up to recommend a preferred candidate, will meet
at the end of August "to screen applications of the candidates" and to
determine whether their credentials are suitable for the job, one OPEC
delegate said.
The meeting underscores OPEC's determination to avoid a
chaotic selection process amid intensifying Middle East tensions.
Competition between Saudi Arabia and Iran over the influential
OPEC post could pave the way for a compromise candidate from a
third-party country to take the job, officials and analysts have said.
Last month, Iran confirmed that former Iranian oil minister
Gholam-Hosain Nozari had been introduced as Tehran's candidate for the
role of secretary general. Previously, Saudi Arabia had nominated Saudi
OPEC governor Majid Munif for the position, which serves as the
organization's highest-ranking official and public face. Iraq
and Ecuador have also put forward candidates.
OPEC members have nominated representatives for the selection
panel, most of whom are OPEC governors. The panel is likely to interview
the four candidates at one stage and may make a recommendation on a
preferred candidate to ministers, OPEC delegates told Dow Jones
Newswires.
"We want to get this issue out of the way if possible," before
a December meeting of OPEC ministers, another delegate said. "But the
final decision will be taken [by oil ministers] in December."
The often-fractious organization has frequently struggled to
agree on a new secretary general, with lower-ranking OPEC officials
frequently having to step in on an interim basis for long periods.
The selection process for the new secretary general, who will
replace current office holder Abdalla Salem el-Badri, comes during a
testing time for the half-century-old organization due to Western
sanctions on OPEC member Iran over its alleged nuclear program. Iran has
frequently criticized Saudi Arabia for overproducing and not following
OPEC's quota system.
OPEC last month agreed to maintain its existing oil-production
ceiling of 30 million barrels a day and pledged to rein in
overproduction after some members complained that a glut of oil could
lead to a price crash. But the group failed to agree on a replacement
for el-Badri, who is set to leave at the end of the year.