b]RI minister to lead OPEC from Jan. 1: Indonesia's Minister of

Thu, 25 Sep 2003

b]RI minister to lead OPEC from Jan. 1: Indonesia's Minister of Mines and Energy Purnomo Yusgiantoro will replace Qatar's Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah as OPEC President from Jan. 1, the oil producer group announced on Wednesday. Also, potentially thorny wrangling over who will be OPEC's Secretary General has been postponed until the end of the year, UAE Minister of Petroleum & Mineral Resources Obaid bin Saif Al-Nasseri said. Al- Nasseri added the current secretary general, Venezuela's Alvaro Silva, would remain in place until the end of 2003 as scheduled. After that, nothing has been decided. Asked if it could it be someone other than Silva - said to be in the running to extend his tenure - Al-Nasseri said: "It could be." Al Attiyah later confirmed the decision had been postponed to Dec. 4, adding three candidates - from Venezuela, Iran and Kuwait - were being proposed. -- Dow Jones

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