OPEC respects Qatar’s decision to withdraw
By Trend
The OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, has received a letter from the State of Qatar giving notice of its intention to withdraw from its Membership of OPEC, pursuant to Article 8 of the OPEC Statute, with effect from 1 January 2019, said a message from the cartel.
The letter from His Excellency Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, Qatar’s
Minister of State for Energy Affairs, also expressed sincere
appreciation to OPEC Member Countries, the OPEC Secretary General
and all OPEC staff.
“Every Member Country has the sovereign right to withdraw from the
organization and this requires no approval from the OPEC
Conference. The organization respects the decision taken by the
State of Qatar.
The OPEC Secretariat expresses thanks to the State of Qatar for its
support of the organization over the many decades of its
membership,” said the cartel.
In the past three years, OPEC has seen Gabon (2016) rejoin the
organization and welcomed new members, Equatorial Guinea (2017) and
the Republic of the Congo (2018). “OPEC appreciates the continued
interest of producers wanting to join the organization.”
OPEC said it remains fully committed to achieving and sustaining
balance and stability in the market, through the organization, and
with the landmark ‘Declaration of Cooperation’, alongside 10
participating non-OPEC countries.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) was founded in Baghdad, Iraq, with the signing of an agreement in September 1960 by five countries namely Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. They were to become the Founder Members of the Organization.