Al-Ghais says OPEC+ is a safety valve to maintain oil market stability

OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al-Ghais

OPEC’s new Secretary General, Haitham Al-Ghais, said that the organization and its allies are flexible enough to cope with recent market demand volatility.

The most important challenge facing the OPEC countries is to support OPEC+ and maintain an alliance that has accumulated sufficient expertise, flexibility and know-how in the mechanism of dealing with the many variables and significant volatility in the oil markets, Al-Ghais said in an interview with Asharq News.

“Watching the markets closely along with available flexibility enables us to manage them so that there is a balance between supply and demand,” he said.

Al-Ghais stressed on the importance of the OPEC+ alliance as a safety valve to maintain the markets stability, as supporting and maintaining the agreement remain one of his most significant objectives.

The official also indicated that the organization does not target a specific price for oil. Its goal is to balance supply and demand, and maintain inventory levels at the rate of the past five years, i.e., to maintain market balance.

Al-Ghais clarified that if oil prices fall sharply, it will affect investment in exploration and mining, with significant long-term implications and risk to industry and markets.

Earlier this week, OPEC elected Al-Ghais as Secretary General to replace Mohammad Barkindo, who has been in charge since 2016. He is scheduled to take over from Aug. 1, 2022.