FG Submits Alison-Madueke’s Name for OPEC Secretary-General’s Post

 

Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke

• Exit strategy for minister has been in the works since last year

Chika Amanze-Nwachuku with agency report

The federal government has nominated the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, to succeed the long-serving incumbent Abdullah al-Badri as the Secretary-General of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Iraq's oil minister said  Tuesday.

The proposal is aimed at solving the deadlock over the post created by opposing candidates from Saudi Arabia and Iran, Abdul Kareem Luaibi was quoted by the Reuters news agency as stating.
Luaibi added that Iraq continues to back its own candidate, and the issue remained unresolved. Badri's latest term in the office ends in December.

If the Nigerian candidacy is successful, Alison-Madueke would be OPEC’s first female to hold the post and would have to relinquish her post as the petroleum minister.

However, she will not be the first Nigerian to hold the post, as former Petroleum Minister, Dr. Rilwanu Lukman, held the post for six years.

THISDAY also gathered that the decision to forward Alison-Maduke’s name has been in the pipeline since December last year when she was elected OPEC’s Alternate President in Vienna, Austria.

A source in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) said the minister had been weighing the possibility of throwing her hat into the ring for the post of secretary-general since last year.

Presidency sources also confirmed that if she succeeds, it would be the perfect exit strategy for the minister who has been mired in several controversies.

He added that her exit is deemed by the presidency as a “soft landing” for the minister and would appease those who have clamoured for her removal from the cabinet.

“Madam has been considering the post of secretary-general for sometime now. That is why her name was forwarded by the federal government, and it is likely that other OPEC member countries will back her nomination,” he said.

He explained that the minister departed Abuja for Vienna on Monday.
In recent days, he added, the minister and the Nigerian delegation have met oil ministers from Iraq, Libya, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to get their support.

Inside the organisation, jockeying for the top job is often more heated than the debate over OPEC's bigger mission-setting the group's quota for oil output.

The secretary-general does not have an official vote in these decisions, but can act to broker compromise among members.

OPEC members are scheduled to meet in Vienna on the body’s production ceiling of 30 million barrels per day.

Alison-Madueke’s OPEC Bid Suffers Setback

Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Deizani Alison-Madueke

By Chika Amanze-Nwachuku  

Member countries of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) have decided to extend the tenure of the incumbent secretary general of the oil cartel, Abdullah al-Badri, by six months, thus putting the bid by the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Deizani Alison-Madueke, to replace him in abeyance.

The 12-member body disclosed this in a communiqué it issued at the end of its meeting in Vienna, Austria, yesterday.

OPEC also agreed to maintain its oil production ceiling of 30 million barrels a day for the second half of 2014.

The federal government had nominated Alison-Madueke to succeed the long-serving al-Badri to break the deadlock over the post created by opposing candidates from Saudi Arabia and Iran.

Had the cartel not extended al-Badri’s tenure and Alison-Madueke got the backing of most member countries to succeed him, she would have been required to step down from the federal cabinet by December.

In the communiqué, the oil ministers expressed satisfaction with oil prices of around $110 a barrel for Brent crude, which is above the organisation’s preferred price of $100 a barrel.

The oil ministers had reviewed recent oil market developments and world economic growth, in particular supply/demand projections for the second half of the year, as well as the outlook for 2015 and noted that the relative steadiness of prices during 2014 to date was an indication that the market is adequately supplied, with the periodic price fluctuations being more a reflection of geopolitical tensions than a response to fundamentals.

OPEC, however, observed that whilst world economic growth was projected to reach 3.4 per cent in 2014, up from 2.9 per cent in 2013, downside risks to the global economy, both in the OECD and non-OECD regions, remained unchecked.

The OPEC member countries noted that whilst world oil demand was expected to rise from 90.0 mbpd in 2013 to 91.1 mbpd in 2014, non-OPEC supply was projected to grow by 1.4 mbpd, with OECD stock levels, in terms of days of forward demand cover, remaining comfortable.

“In the light of the foregoing, the conference again decided that member countries should adhere to the existing production level of 30.0 mbpd. In taking this decision, the conference unanimously agreed that member countries would, if required, take steps to ensure market balance which is so important to world economic activity.

“Member countries in turn reiterated their willingness to firmly respond to developments that might jeopardise oil market stability,” the communiqué stated.
OPEC’s next ordinary meeting will hold in Vienna, Austria, on November 27, 2014.