Four new countries consulted to join OPEC, says Secretary-General

Azerbaijan, Malaysia, Brunei and Mexico have been consulted to join the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in a bid to increase its number of member states.

That is according to Haitham Al Ghais, Secretary-General of OPEC, in a statement to government agency WAM on the sidelines of the 8th OPEC International Seminar which kicked off today in Vienna.

Al Ghais said that consultations with new countries from outside the organisation contribute to strengthening the cohesion of OPEC.

He indicated that the organisation does not aim to add a certain number of countries, but targets countries that have the same strategic objectives of preserving and stabilising oil markets.

The OPEC Secretary-General noted that the four countries that were consulted so far have been in solidarity with the organisation since 2017, adding that "they have gone through qualitative challenges during the collapse of the markets and the pandemic in 2020, and therefore all of these countries have the common goal that is in the interest of stabilising the oil markets".