Opec bars five leading news organisations from oil conference
[LONDON] Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) has excluded five of the world’s leading news organisations from covering its biennial oil seminar in Vienna, attended by the group’s ministers and senior industry executives.
The Opec did not accredit Bloomberg News, despite repeated requests, and offered no explanation for its decision. The New York Times, the Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Reuters were also excluded, widening a ban the organisation imposed two years ago. Other news organisations were granted access to the conference, which runs on Wednesday (Jul 9) and Thursday.
“We believe that transparency and a free press serve readers, markets, and the public interest, and we object to this restriction on coverage,” a Reuters spokesperson said.
Bloomberg, Reuters, and The Wall Street Journal were also excluded from the same event in 2023, as well as from a meeting of oil ministers earlier that year. Saudi Oil Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, Opec’s de facto leader, has publicly criticised journalists for their reporting on the group.
Most meetings are now held online, a move that’s deprived reporters of the traditional opportunity to question ministers before and after production decisions are made.
This year’s seminar comes as the group fights to maintain control of the oil market narrative at a time when Wall Street is almost unanimously pessimistic about the prospects for oil prices in the second half of the year.
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“We are once again very disappointed that Opec is excluding journalists, including from Bloomberg News, from its seminar,” a spokesperson for Bloomberg News said. “Market transparency is clearly in the public interest, and we continue to strongly advocate for Opec to allow journalists from relevant global news outlets to attend its events.”
A spokesperson for The New York Times confirmed they had not been accredited for the event and had been given no reason for the decision. The Financial Times and The Wall Street Journal declined to comment.
Opec did not respond to requests for comment.
Along with Prince Abdulaziz and other Opec ministers, CEOs including the heads of Shell, TotalEnergies, and BP spoke at the seminar on its opening day. BLOOMBERG
