Iran's Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad was appointed as Rotating President of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Conference for 2025 by alphabetical order during a ministerial meeting on Tuesday which was held via videoconference and chaired by Marcel Abeke, the Gabonese petroleum minister and OPEC conference president for 2024.
Iran has assumed the rotating presidency of the OPEC for 2025, a sign the country is still a major player in the bloc despite US sanctions seeking to restrict its oil exports.
The ministerial meeting convenes twice a year to review the general affairs of the 12-member OPEC and discuss its key internal matters.
Paknejad said in the meeting that it was an honor for him and Iran as a founding member of the OPEC to assume its presidency at a time when the organization needs more unity to deal with “sensitive and complicated” issues in the global energy market.
The appointment comes several years after the United States imposed a raft of sanctions on Iran’s oil industry, seeking to deprive the country of its export revenues.
The sanctions led to concerns that Iran may lose its position as a powerful OPEC member and a major energy supplier in the world.