Kuwait oil minister leaves post days before Opec meeting 

NOV 29, 20158:58 PM

[CAIRO] Kuwait named Deputy Prime Minister Anas Al- Saleh as acting oil minister to replace Ali al-Omair who became minister of public affairs and retained his role as state minister for parliamentary affairs, according to an official decree.

The change in portfolio comes days before al-Omair was due to represent Kuwait at the meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries on Dec 4 to discuss the group's production level amid a slump in prices due to a global glut. Earlier this month, al-Omair swaped the chief executive officers of state companies Kuwait Oil Co and Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Co, unit known as Kufpec.

Al-Saleh, born in 1972 and holder of a bachelor degree in business administration from Portland University in the US, is also finance minister, according to the website of the official news agency Kuna.

Kuwait is the fourth-biggest producer in Opec, and pumped 2.82 million barrels a day of crude in October, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

BLOOMBERG