Iran currently has the highest number of experts in OPEC's secretariat, which might lead to the appointment of an Iranian official as the organization's secretary general, a new report said.
The country is one of the founders of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) that has 12 member states. Iran's candidate for the top OPEC position is Gholamhossein Nozari, the former oil minister and also former managing director of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), Mehr news agency reported.
In addition to Hojjatollah Ghanimifard, who is the director of the Petroleum Studies Department at OPEC, six other Iranians are now holding expert-level posts in the organization.
The organization's current secretary general is Libya's Abdalla Salem el-Badri who has been holding the position since 2007.
In their latest meeting, the organization's member states decided to extend Badri's tenure for another year.
Iran, Saudi Arabia and Iraq have submitted the names of their candidates to the organization's secretariat.
Saudi Arabia has proposed Majid al-Moneef, the country's Secretary General of the Supreme Economic Council, while Iraq has proposed Samir al-Qazban, the Iraqi prime minister's senior advisor for energy affairs, respectively, for the post.
The present production ceiling of OPEC's member countries has been set at 30 million barrels of oil per day.
OPEC is a permanent intergovernmental organization of 12 oil-exporting developing nations that coordinates and unifies the oil policies of its member states.
