Haitham Al Ghais of Kuwait started his role, Monday, as Secretary-General of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) at the Secretariat in Vienna, Austria, Anadolu News Agency reports.

Appointed to the post for a three-year term at an OPEC special meeting on 3 January, Al-Ghais succeeded Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo who unexpectedly died on 6 July.

“It is a great honour for me to be at the helm of an Organisation that has been instrumental in supporting a stable and sustainable supply of oil to the world for more than 61 years,” Al-Ghais was quoted as saying in an OPEC statement.

With his 30-year service in the oil sector, Al Ghais has advised six Kuwaiti oil ministers and also served at the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC)’s offices in Kuwait, Beijing, China and London. Before taking the position of OPEC Secretary-General, he was the deputy Managing Director for International Marketing at KPC.