Algeria, 27 September 2016 – OPEC Secretary General, HE Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, attended the opening session of the 15th Ministerial Meeting of the International Energy Forum (IEF) here yesterday.
HE Barkindo took part in the first plenary session of the Conference, held at the impressive International Convention Centre, speaking alongside the Secretary General of the IEF, Dr Sun Xiansheng, and the Executive Director of the International Energy Agency (IEA) Dr Fatih Birol.
The IEF Ministerial, which brings oil and gas producers and consumers together to discuss challenges facing the global energy markets, will run until September 28. It is being attended by well over 400 delegates from 54 countries. In total, around 900 participants have gathered at the Convention Centre for the event.
The Conference, which is being attended by OPEC’s Oil and Energy Ministers, was officially opened by Algerian Prime Minister, HE Abdelmalek Sellal, with whom the OPEC Secretary General met after the opening.
HE Mohammad Barkindo has spent the last few days meeting OPEC Heads of Delegation and other high-ranking officials to discuss various matters associated with the current oil market conditions.
OPEC’s Ministers are due to hold a consultative meeting on Wednesday at 15.00 hours local time – after the close of the IEF Conference.
Early this morning, the OPEC Secretary General joined Conference President, HE Dr. Mohammed Bin Saleh Al-Sada, who is Qatar’s Energy and Industry Minister, at an informal breakfast meeting with Algeria’s Energy Minister, HE Noureddine Boutarfa, HE Eng. Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, Minister of Petroleum of I.R. Iran, and HE Eng. Eulogio Del Pino, Venezuela’s People’s Minister of Petroleum and Mining, as well as Russia’s Energy Minister, HE Alexander Novak.
After lunch, HE Mohammad Barkindo received in his office at the Convention Centre Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, HE Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, and Iraq’s Oil Minister, HE Jabbar Ali Hussein Al-Luiebi. Both Ministers took the time to address OPEC staff attending the Conference.
Total’s Chief Executive Office, Patrick Pouyanne, also paid a visit to HE Mohammad Barkindo at his office.
The OPEC Secretary General’s meetings have been going on long into the evening. On Monday, he joined the Conference President in holding initial talks with the Russian Energy Minister.
Media attention on the meeting has been high. After the first plenary session, HE Mohammad Barkindo spoke at length to reporters about the general oil market conditions, the value of the IEF in promoting producer-consumer dialogue, in addition to fielding questions about OPEC’s forthcoming informal discussions.
Hosting the IEF Ministerial is proving to be another major success for the Algerian authorities. Algiers is fast becoming a prime location for such large events.
The capital’s international standing is being enhanced by the new, state-of-the art Convention Centre, which was inaugurated by Algerian President, HE Abdelaziz Bouteflika, and Prime Minister, HE Abdelmalek Sellal, in early September.
The massive complex, which covers an area of 230,000 square metres, is the largest convention centre in North Africa. It comprises a 6,000-seat lecture hall, a 15,000 square metre exhibition hall, a multifunctional press conference hall, and a dedicated area for heads of state, as well as many auxiliary buildings.
Source: opec.org
