The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has once again barred several media organisations from attending its annual conference set to be hosted in Vienna, Bloomberg reports.
The OPEC cartel, led by Saudi Arabia, acts to control international oil prices to gain influence in the global market and to maximise profits. Its 13 member countries control around 30% of global oil production.
The cartel has allegedly excluded journalists from several important media organisations from attending its event at its headquarters in the Austrian capital which is set to take place on 5-6 July.
“We are very concerned about the prospect of the exclusion of certain journalists, including those from Bloomberg,” the American economic media complained in a press release on Thursday. “In the name of market transparency, we strongly recommend that OPEC allow journalists from the appropriate outlets to participate.”
Our house, our rules
Reuters reports that its journalists had similarly been excluded. The Wall Street Journal also did not relieve an invitation to the event, AFP reports.
Among the speakers expected at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna are Saudi Prince and Minister of Energy Abdelaziz ben Salmane, British oil giant BP boss Bernard Looney, and European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson.
The Austrian Foreign Ministry, which will also be present at the event, failed to comment on OPEC’s decision to exclude journalists, but told AFP that it “took the opportunity to stress that freedom of the press is a cornerstone of any democratic society.”
AFP had previously been banned from an early June meeting of 13 OPEC members, as well as their allies, including Russia. OPEC Secretary General Hithan Al-Ghais defended the organisation’s "policy" of inviting media on a case-by-case basis. “This is our house,” he argued.
