Kuwaiti oil executive Haitham al-Ghais officially assumed the office of OPEC secretary general on Monday, the organization confirmed in a press release.
Al-Ghais, who was chosen for the role in January, succeeds Mohammad Barkindo who passed away on July 5.
Ahead of taking office, the Kuwaiti stressed that Russia's membership in OPEC+ is "vital" for the success of the production agreement between the cartel and its allies. Al-Ghais will preside over his first OPEC+ meeting later this week, when producers will discuss their output goals for September.
