Obituary: Hossein Kazempour Ardebili
Iran’s long-serving governor for OPEC Hossein Kazempour Ardebili, who died in May, was a key figure in the Islamic Republic’s petroleum industry. He was a seasoned negotiator who proved to be instrumental in many decision-makings by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Kazempour Ardebili was known as the architect of the international affairs department of Iran’s petroleum ministry. Addressing the memorial service held for him, Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh said he was a “reliable friend”, and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif described him as “humble and brave”.
In the words of his friends, Kazempour Ardebili always won concessions through negotiations thanks to his stronger reasoning and arguments.
OPEC Secretary General Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, in his message of condolences, said “Hossein's commitment and dedication to OPEC throughout his life's work were not only markers of his personal qualities, but those of the great nation which he so ably represented throughout the years”.
“His expertise and experience were central to OPEC's many achievements and its greatest successes. Hossein was a champion of the Declaration of Cooperation that has brought unparalleled recognition and respect for OPEC, as evidenced by our proactive leadership in confronting the severe market downturn resulting from impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,” read his message.
Prominent Diplomat
Kazempour Ardebili had survived the June 1981 bombing at the headquarters of the Islamic Republic party in Tehran. He served as minister of commerce from 1980 to 1981. Then he served as deputy minister of foreign affairs for economy for four years prior to becoming deputy minister of petroleum for international affairs and Board member at National Iranian Oil Company, which he held for five years.
Kazempour Ardebili was appointed Iran’s ambassador to Japan in 1990 and remained in this post for five years. In 1995, he was named Iran’s governor for OPEC and remained in the post until the end of the second term of Mohammad Khatami in 2005. During President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s tenure, Kazempour Ardebili stepped down when Gholam-Hossein Nozari was appointed minister of petroleum.
He was again reappointed Iran’s governor for OPEC in 2013.
Oil Price Revival
Mehdi Assali, Iran’s former national representative to OPEC said Kazempour Ardebili’s first term as Iran’s governor for OPEC (1995-2008) coincided with such developments as an increased number of financial markets determining oil prices, increased number of oil producers and oil-thirsty China’s entry into the oil market, and above all shale oil and gas production in the US. Assali said Kazempour Ardebili was instrumental in the revival of oil.
Cut Exemption
When Kazempour Ardebili started his second term in office in 2013, Iran was redoubling its efforts to regain its market share lost due to sanctions. Efforts undertaken by Zangeneh and Kazempour Ardebili to win exemption from oil production cuts for Iran marked history.
UN sanctions against Iran had destabilized the country’s position within OPEC and Kazempour Ardebili took office under such circumstances.
Assali said: “Due to UN sanctions against Iran and the country’s halted oil exports, OPEC members agreed on a total production ceiling instead of setting quotas for member states. Since the sanctions had sharply cut Iran’s oil production and exports, Saudi Arabia and fellow members were free to increase their production and even take Iran’s share in the market without being accused of non-compliance. This proposal had been made by some OPEC member states who had benefited from the inexperience of Iran’s OPEC governor who was coincidentally presiding over the OPEC meeting.”
With Kazempour Ardebili back in office, an objective sought by Iran was to revive Iran’s interests and strengthen its position within the OPEC. Iran was exempted from production cut because when the country was under sanctions fellow members had increased their output, thereby driving down oil prices and boosting shale oil.
Declaration of Cooperation
Kazempour Ardebili’s endeavor was not limited to defending Iran’s interests in OPEC. He firmly believed in a stronger OPEC position in the global oil market. As the representative of a founding member of OPEC, he was instrumental in the drafting of the OPEC Long-Term Strategy (LTS) which is being reviewed every five years.
In a column, Assali wrote: “The first draft of the LTS, in light of OPEC Statute, the strategic long-term objective envisaged for OPEC was to maximize the interests of member states including achievement of proper oil prices; however, in the revised document, Saudi Arabia, along with friendly nations, insisted on the elimination of the objective of maximizing oil revenue and leading the market in the direction of proper prices.”
“But Iran insisted that this strategy has to focus on maximizing long-term oil revenue of member states through fair prices. We had defined fair prices as optimal for both producer and consumer. The price was considered high enough to make investment in this sector attractive, while it was at a level not to leave any negative impacts on the global economic growth,” he wrote.
Iran achieved such success without having any special privileges. Iran’s growing clout with OPEC was impossible without any increase in oil production and exports. In the oil markets, barrels speak.
Assali believes that Kazempour Ardebili managed to make Iran a key and influential state in drawing up OPEC’s strategic documents and influence the oil market.
Another role played by Kazempour Ardebili was his role in the Declaration of Cooperation, which Barkindo highlighted in his message.
Kazempour Ardebili was also instrumental in the election of Mohammad-Hossein Adeli as secretary general of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF) for two consecutive terms in 2013.
In his message of condolences, Yury Sentyurin, GECF Secretary General, said: “Mr. Kazempour's legacy with a focus on strengthening international stability and cooperation, altogether with promoting secure and environmentally friendly energy systems is highly praised by the professional community. Being devoted to the soft power of diplomacy, he has made indeed meaningful tribute in ensuring energy security and advocating positive development on global energy markets.”
Legacy
Kazempour Ardebili-engineered Declaration of Cooperation remains marked in the history of OPEC. Under that declaration, OPEC member states and allies have so far removed historic number of barrels from their output in a bid to help stabilize oil markets.
Addressing the 179th OPEC meeting, Barkindo said the OPEC meetings missed Kazempour Ardebili.