Iran Assumes OPEC Presidency

Iran assumed the presidency of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries as of January 1, 2011, for the first time in 36 years.

Iranian oil minister Masoud Mir-Kazemi was elected as OPEC president at a one-day meeting of the Vienna-based Organization.

Iran, which takes over from Ecuador, is OPEC’s second-largest oil producer and holds about 10 percent of world oil reserves.

At the meeting in Vienna, OPEC also agreed to keep its oil production target unchanged at about 24.8 million barrels a day.

The Organization, comprised of 12 member states, supports market stability, encourages sustainable development initiatives through the OPEC Fund for International Development and committed itself to efforts to protect the environment.

OPEC is also committed to encouraging dialogue between OPEC and non-OPEC producers, as well as with consumers.

RigZone