Four former oil ministers of OPEC member states Iraq, Libya, Algeria and Nigeria have set up an international energy alliance to tackle various energy issues, the four said in an announcement late Sunday.
Issam Chalabi, Shokri Ghanem, Chakib Khelil and Rilwanu Lukman, former oil ministers of Iraq, Libya, Algeria and Nigeria respectively, met in Vienna last month and decided to set up the alliance.
They aim to address various energy issues of concern to interested parties including, but not limited to, governments, oil companies, financial institutions, energy agencies, services companies, as well as those in the fields of construction, engineering and manufacturing, the alliance said in a statement.
Chalabi was Iraq oil minister between 1987 and 1990 and the former head of the Iraqi national oil company. Ghanem was the Libyan oil head until he defected from Libya last year following the uprising against former president Gaddafi. Khelil was removed from his post as Algerian oil minister last year after spending almost 11 years in the position.
Lukman was the Nigerian oil minister twice for the periods 1986 to 1990 and 2008 to 2010.
Both Khelil and Lukman have served as presidents of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, or OPEC.
(Source: Wall Street Journal)
