ister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Allison-Madueke, has
raised the Nigerian flag higher in the international arena, having become
the first woman to be appointed President in the history of the
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Mrs. Diezani Allison-Madueke, who was appointed OPEC’s Alternate
President for 2014 at the group’s meeting in Vienna, Austria is
expected to become the next President of the group by 2015 when
the substantive president is billed to step down.
The appointment of Mrs. Allison-Madueke as alternate president of
the group was one of the key decisions of the group’s 164th meeting,
changing the face of the exporters’ group which is dominated by
Islamic countries.
Mrs. Allison-Madueke started altering stereotype in OPEC when she
also became the first female minister to lead a country delegation to
the group’s general meeting. She has also remained dominant in the
group’s decisions and positions on global oil market supply.
Daily Champion recalls that the multilateral trade group which
influences the price of oil in the export market through supply
manipulation was formed in 1960 to protect the interest of member
countries in production agreements with powerful multinational oil
firms and also demand fair prices from the export market though
supply control.
Nigeria joined the organization in 1971 and has remained an influential
member since then, producing prominent leaders of the group including
Dr. Rilwanu Lukman who served the group as Secretary General and
President.
Another former Nigerian Petroleum Minister, Dr. Edmund Daukoru, also
served the group as President and dominated activities of the group in
a manner that led to first hosting of OPEC’s extraordinary general
meeting in Abuja.
Despite being a woman, Mrs. Diezani Allison-Madueke has taken the
mantle with spirited drive, leading technical delegations from Nigeria to
influence decisions of the exporters’ group in a manner that has
always balanced interests to support global economic growth while
guaranteeing significant revenue returns for producing nations.
The 164th Meeting of the Conference of the Organization of the
Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was concluded in Vienna,
Austria, late last week , under the Chairmanship of its President,
Mustafa Jassim Mohammad Al-Shamali, Deputy Prime Minister and
Minister of Oil of the State of Kuwait and Head of the country’s
Delegation.
The Conference congratulated Bijan Namdar Zangeneh and Mustafa
J.M. Al-Shamali on their appointments as Minister of Petroleum of the
Islamic Republic of Iran and Minister of Oil of the State of Kuwait,
respectively, and thanked their predecessors in office, Rostam
Ghasemi of Iran and Hani Abdulaziz Hussain of Kuwait for their
contributions to the work of the Organization.
According to a statement from OPEC, “the Conference elected Dr
Abdel Bari Ali Al-Arousi, Minister of Oil and Gas of Libya, as President
of the Conference for one year, with effect from 1 January 2014,
and Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke CON, Minister of Petroleum
Resources of Nigeria and Head of its Delegation, as Alternate President
for the same period.”
“The Conference reviewed the Secretary General’s report, the
report of the Economic Commission Board (ECB) and a number of
administrative matters. The Conference also exchanged views on
developments in multilateral environment negotiations, including: the
outcome of COP19/CMP9 held in Warsaw, Poland, in November; the
status of the Organization’s ongoing energy dialogue with the
European Union (EU); its continued cooperative work with various
other international organizations for the G-20; and its energy dialogue
with the Russian Federation.”
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