Iran Elected to OPEC Presidency

VOA News (Link) (October 14, 2010)

For the first time in 36 years, Iran will assume the rotating presidency of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. It takes effect next year. The appointment was announced Thursday at the start of this week�s OPEC meeting in Vienna.

Iran�s oil ministry�s official website, SHANA, announced that Iranian Oil Minister Masoud Mirkazemi will become the elected president of the 12-member oil cartel. Iran is OPEC�s second-largest oil producer and was unanimously elected during the 157th session of OPEC�s ministerial meeting.

OPEC, which provides 35 percent of global oil demand, also reached an agreement on its oil production target. The cartel said Thursday it would make �no changes� to its official oil production target of 24.84 million barrels a day.

OPEC comprises Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Venezuela. �