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. Al-Qahtani 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.