Dr. Ayed S. Al-Qahtani is the Director, Research Division of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Secretariat, based in Vienna, Austria.

Prior to his present assignment, Dr. Al-Qahtani was an advisor to H.E. Minister of Energy, Industry and Mineral Resources, Saudi Arabia. Earlier in his career, Dr. AlQahtani held various executive and technical positions with Saudi Aramco and World Energy Council.

Dr. Al-Qahtani holds a PhD in Minerals Economics from Colorado School of Mines, USA, a MSc in Petroleum Economics & Management from Institute of Francaise du Petrole, France, an Executive Master of Advanced Studies in International Oil & Gas Leadership from Graduate Institute, Switzerland and a MSc in Minerals Economics from Colorado School of Mines, USA. He also holds a BSc in Petroleum Engineering from King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Saudi Arabia.