BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 11. Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad has been elected chairman of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in 2025, Trend reports.
Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad, addressing local media after the 189th OPEC meeting held the previous day (December 10) in the videoconference format, stated that several important decisions were made at the OPEC meeting, including the election of the Iranian Oil Minister as OPEC chairman.
Paknejad noted that the OPEC secretariat's budget was discussed and the budget was approved by all members. It was noted that some members who do not pay their membership fees will pay shortly.
The Iranian minister did not divulge the value of the budget.
The Iranian minister added that OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais will assume his duties again for three years.
“I will fully fulfill my commitments as OPEC chairman in 2025. I will also work to preserve unity in OPEC and continue cooperation with our non-OPEC partners,” he said.
OPEC currently has 12 members, and the OPEC+ alliance includes 12 countries.
To note, Iran's total hydrocarbon reserves amount to 1.2 trillion barrels. Iran can extract 340 billion barrels of this gas with existing technological equipment. Iran can utilize about 30 percent, and 70 percent remains unutilized underground.