OPEC chief says the search is on for new members of the oil producers’ group
Haitham al-Ghais, secretary-general of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), speaking at the Energy Asia Summit on June 26, 2023.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The secretary-general of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Country signaled that the influential producers’ alliance is actively open to recruiting new members.
Asked if he is trying to expand the OPEC coalition, the organization’s Secretary-General Haitham al-Ghais told reporters on Wednesday: “I am, yes.”
The organization currently has 13 members, predominantly based in the Middle East, North and West Africa and South America. At stake for the group of oil producers is a battle to reconcile an outlook of tighter crude supply in the second half of the year, current macroeconomic worries, and inflationary concerns. OPEC members coordinate the amount of oil they output in an effort to influence prices.
Ecuador exited the group in 2020 because of political circumstances, but in May was invited to rejoin the OPEC ranks, according to a letter from al-Ghais shared by the Ecuadorian energy ministry.
“The Organization sees as a top priority that Ecuador joins the OPEC family again,” the letter said. The Ecuadorian ministry did not reveal its response.
Al-Ghais would not be drawn into disclosing the names of potential new members. He mentioned recent visits paid to oil-producing countries, however, including allies that currently implement a joint production strategy with OPEC countries, in a group known as OPEC+.
“I was in Malaysia, I was in Brunei,” he said, stressing that he had not necessarily invited these countries to join the organization. “I was in Azerbaijan, I was in Mexico.”
Previous speculation about Guyana’s potential membership saw OPEC state in late June that, while the South American country is “an emerging player in the international oil market with significant potential,” it had not been invited to join.
Asked about the requirements to become an OPEC member, al-Ghais said: “They have to be a net [oil] exporter, substantial, they have to have similar goals as OPEC. This is all mentioned very clearly in our statute. And I think many countries that I just named actually fit this profile. So … work in progress.”
Unanimity
The OPEC secretary-general addressed reporters following an OPEC seminar conference in Vienna, where energy and oil ministers met on the sidelines.
No new policies were announced, but ministers expressed appreciation for the additional oil production cuts of OPEC+ members Saudi Arabia, Russia and Algeria.
On Monday, Saudi Arabia announced that it would extend its voluntary 1-million-barrels-per-day cut initially outlined for July into August, while fellow heavyweight Moscow said it would trim its exports by 500,000 barrels per day next month. Algeria also said it will reduce its production by 20,000 barrels per day in August.
All three countries and several other OPEC+ members in April declared a separate set of output cuts totaling over 1.6 million barrels per day, which they have extended until the end of 2024.
Al-Ghais emphasized that the voluntary reductions enacted by some OPEC+ did not suggest divisions in the policy views of coalition members.
“When people can sit down and go through an agreement that goes all the way through, with a clear vision, into 2025, I think that’s a sign of unanimity,” he said.
“These are sovereign country decisions. They are extra. We appreciate them … It does not in any way insinuate that there is a fragmentation.”
Focus on investment
Echoing the comments of other OPEC officials, al-Ghais has also been advocating for simultaneous joint investment in fossil fuel projects and in renewables, in an effort to avoid energy supply deficits. Despite what he perceives as global underinvestment in hydrocarbons, he said that the OPEC alliance can still answer any potential supply crisis.
“Part of the decision to reduce production is also good because it gives us more spare capacity, and OPEC has always managed to step up in case of any shock globally,” al-Ghais said.
“Spare capacity is tight, I would say … And our countries are investing. When I talk about underinvestment, most of our countries, if not all of them, are investing … But it’s a global responsibility. OPEC cannot shoulder this on its own. We have to have everybody step up.”
Suhail al-Mazrouei, energy minister of the United Arab Emirates, likewise stressed focus on investment and availabilities.
“What’s important is not the price, what’s important is the level of investments that are coming to the market to balance the longer or the medium-term view of the supply,” he told CNBC’s Dan Murphy on Wednesday. “If something worries me, that’s what worries me, the medium to long-term supply. Not the demand.”
The International Energy Agency in May foreshadowed an intense supply crunch, noting “tighter market balances we anticipate in the second half of the year, when demand is expected to eclipse supply by almost 2 mb/d.”
Air taxi startup Vertical Aerospace achieved a world’s first this week, completing the first flight between two airports through public airspace for an eVTOL at the Royal International Air Tattoo in Gloucestershire, England.
The Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) is the world’s largest military airshow, held every July and serving as a public showcase for the latest advancements in aviation technology. It’s fitting, then, that RIAT served as setting for the Vertical VX4 prototype’s first piloted public flight.
The eVTOL aircraft flew 17 miles from the company’s Flight Test Centre at Cotswold Airport to RAF Fairford, a Royal Air Force station used by the US Air Force. The Vertical VX4 reached speeds of 115 mph, and an altitude of 1800 ft, and also marked the first landing at a public location for an aircraft of this type.
The Vertical Aerospace entry was the only battery-electric aircraft present at RIAT 2025, and the flight served as a demonstration of the company’s broader strategy to unlock new hybrid-electric applications for defense, logistics, and special/close support missions where the eVTOL’s (relatively) quiet operations could give it a tactical advantage.
“RIAT is a global stage for the most advanced, mission-ready aerospace technology, and we’re proud to showcase how electric aviation will support the future of defense,” says Stuart Simpson, CEO of Vertical Aerospace. “Our hybrid-electric roadmap unlocks new capabilities for military operations, and Vertical’s RIAT presence reinforces our commitment to playing a meaningful role in the future of military and special mission aviation.”
Vertical’s VX4 debuted last year, with a 20% increase in the power-to-weight ratio that enables a top cruising speed of 150 mph and transports four passengers plus a pilot up to 100 miles on a single charge.
The inaugural VX4 flight was witnessed by several thousand UK aircraft enthusiasts, and showed how an eVTOL aircraft could integrate with real-world airport operations, building momentum toward more regular, certified deployment.
Electrek’s Take
Archer, BETA, EHang, Joby, XPeng – the list of eVTOL manufacturers seems to be as long as the list of new electric car brands that didn’t exist back when I first started working with EVs back in ::gulp:: the 1990s. The future of regional point-to-point air travel certainly seems to be vertical, and electric.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Vertical Aerospace.
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Say what you will about Elon Musk, but Tesla has changed the way that millions of people buy cars and, by extension, car insurance. Now, Honda is taking a page from Tesla’s successful playbook and launching its own in-house insurance business. Enter: Honda Insurance Solutions.
Honda Insurance Solutions is being launched as a fully licensed insurance agency serving the insurance needs of Acura and Honda customers, but it’s not stopping at competitive pricing and coverage options for Honda cars and motorcycles. Honda Insurance Solutions promises to go several steps beyond Tesla’s offering with coverage for trailers, RVs, homes, and even pets.
“Honda Insurance Solutions offers customers access to coverage through a brand they know and trust,” says Petar Vucurevic, President, American Honda Insurance Solutions, LLC and Senior Vice President, American Honda Finance Corporation. “Insurance is a key touchpoint in the vehicle ownership journey, and we aim to deliver a superior experience tailored to the unique needs of each customer, while promoting safer driving and increased peace of mind on the road.”
The company says the launch of its new insurance business is just part of Honda’s broader digital vehicle sales platform strategy, with future plans to integrate insurance offerings into new products.
Electrek’s Take
It’s important to note some of the key differences between Honda’s insurance offering and Tesla’s. Honda isn’t offering discounts, they’re not bundling insurance premiums into the vehicle financing, and they’re not building their insurance offerings into their dealerships’ checkout/F&I offices. Not yet, anyway.
What Honda is doing right now is deepening relationships with its existing customers and finding ways to make money on products it hasn’t sold them – whether that’s the Harley parked in the garage next to their Prologue or the garage itself.
It’s a smart play. And, once Honda figures out a way to cut franchise dealers out entirely and go to a direct sales model, it’ll look even smarter.
SOURCE | IMAGES: Honda.
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Nobody ever says “this is business” before doing something nice, and the recently reborn Lion Electric company is keeping that streak alive by doing the unthinkable to cut costs: they’re going to void the warranties on hundreds of electric school buses.
In a letter issued to exiting Lion Electric customers last week, Deloitte Restructuring announced that the warranties on all Lion vehicles purchased outside of the company’s home Province of Quebec are null and void – leaving dozens of school districts in the lurch with stranded assets that won’t get fixed, and can’t be sold to generate funds for replacements.
“We are working with alternate vendors at the expense of the school district to help keep our electric buses functional and on the road,” explains Dr. Richard Decman, Superintendent of Herscher CUSD No. 2 district in Herscher, Illinois. “Currently, six of our 25 (Lion) electric buses need some type of repair.”
Student Transportation News reports that Lion buses represent fully half of Herscher’s overall fleet of 50 buses, and that the district has received nearly $10 million for the purchase of 25 electric buses and the related charging stations from various state and utility incentive programs.
Herscher isn’t the only district having problems with Lion buses. “All four Lion buses that we own are currently parked and not being used,” Coleen Souza, interim transportation director of Winthrop Public Schools, told Clean Trucking. “Two of them are in need of repairs which would cost us money which we are not willing to invest in because the buses do not run for more than a month before needing more repairs.”
More of the same in Maine, where Yarmouth School Department bought two Lion Electric buses in 2023 with the state covering the costs. According to Superintendent Andrew Dolloff, the buses almost never worked. “We’ve had some sporadic service over the past two years, but as soon as the tech leaves, the buses produce error codes again,” explained Dolloff. ” and “Then the technician quits or is released, and we wait a few months for the next response.”
Dolloff added that Yarmouth’s electric buses did not operate during the 2024-25 school year.
Lion’s new owners are seemingly uninterested in their customers’ plight – which might be easily dismissed if those new owners, Groupe MACH, weren’t also the old owners of Lion Electric.
That’s right, kids. Quebec-based real estate company Groupe MACH, which stepped in to “save” Lion Electric earlier this summer, along with Ontario-based Mirella & Lino Saputo Foundation, bought $90 million of equity in Lion Electric back in 2023. And, while the MACH people may not have been the ones who ultimately made the call about voiding the warranties (that decision was made by the Deloitte bankruptcy team), it is absolutely Group MACH who have, to date, not announced plans to continue to honor those warranties, either.
Make of that what you will.
Deloitte Lion letter
SOURCES: School Transportation News, Clean Trucking, Deloitte.
If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
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