A warm welcome was given to Gabon’s Minister of Petroleum and Hydrocarbons, His Excellency Etienne Dieudonné Ngoubou, during a visit to the Secretariat, a day before his country officially rejoins the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) on 1 July, 2016.

HE Ngoubou met with the Acting OPEC Secretary General, HE Abdalla Salem El-Badri, as well as a number of other Secretariat staff. Discussions focused on the current oil market situation, the Secretariat’s main activities, and the input of Gabon into the Organization.

El-Badri said: “We are very happy to welcome back Gabon into the OPEC group of countries. We look forward to working with the Minister and his colleagues in the coming years. I am also pleased to see that all the countries that had previously left the Organization have now returned.”

Ngoubou said: “Gabon is delighted that it will once again be a member of OPEC after more than 20 years away. We believe we can be an active and engaged partner in OPEC’s activities, as the Organization looks to meet both challenges and opportunities in the years ahead.”

Gabon asked to rejoin the Organization in March this year. This was officially confirmed at the 169th Meeting of the Conference held at the OPEC Secretariat on 2 June, 2016. Gabon originally joined OPEC in 1975, before leaving in 1994.

About OPEC

In accordance with its Statute, the mission of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is to coordinate and unify the petroleum policies of its Member Countries and ensure the stabilization of oil markets in order to secure an efficient, economic and regular supply of petroleum to consumers, a steady income to producers and a fair return on capital for those investing in the petroleum industry.