OPEC Would Be Happy to Expand, Open to All: Secretary General

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) would be pleased to expand and is open to all. This was stated by the organization's Secretary General, Haytham al-Ghais, during a press briefing.

“I have been to Malaysia, Mexico, Brunei, and Azerbaijan, but I am not saying that I have invited them to become OPEC members. OPEC+ is not a formal organization; it is a cooperation alliance, and formally speaking, the OPEC+ members—Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan—are not members of OPEC, yet they feel like members of OPEC,” he noted.

Al-Ghais mentioned that he has not invited Russia to join OPEC. “I am planning to visit Russia, possibly in October for the Russian Energy Week. We will see,” he said when asked if he intends to invite Russia to join OPEC.

Al-Ghais did not rule out that some countries may hesitate to decide to join OPEC due to fears of falling under the NOPEC (No Oil Producing and Exporting Cartels Act) legislation, which allows the U.S. government to sue OPEC members with antitrust claims.