Iran oil minister elected OPEC president

For the first time in 36 years, Iran will assume the rotating presidency of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) as of next year.

Iranian Oil Minister Masoud Mirkazemi has been elected president of the 12 oil cartel following a vote on Thursday, the ministry’s official website, SHANA, announced.

Iran, OPEC’s second-largest oil producer, was unanimously elected during the 157th session of OPEC ministerial meeting that kicked off in Vienna on October 14.

OPEC comprises of Algeria, Angola, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Venezuela.

The cartel, which provides 35 percent of global oil demand, also reached an agreement on it oil production target.

OPEC president, Wilson Pastor-Morris of Ecuador, said the cartel would make “no changes” to its official oil production target of 24.84 million barrels a day.