The palace, the protests and the red carpet: How OPEC’s seminar played out

For centuries, Vienna's romanticist Hofburg palace served arsenic a wintertime residence of the imperial Habsburg dynasty — this week, though, it welcomed Saudi royalty, vigor ministers, apical CEOs and a slew of analysts traders and more.

Here are immoderate highlights:

Since 1965, Vienna has housed the office of the OPEC Secretariat — the administrative backbone of the 12-member OPEC confederation of lipid producers.

The Secretariat is led by a secretary-general — currently, erstwhile Kuwaiti authoritative Haitham al-Ghais, who took bureau for his archetypal three-year word successful 2022 and has since been reappointed for a 2nd stint starting Aug. 1, 2025.

Before the Covid-19 pandemic, the OPEC Secretariat was the humble backdrop of (often) day-long, high-stakes and heated discussions implicit crude output levels betwixt OPEC producers and their allies, astatine slightest doubly a year.

The Secretariat's location is simply a cavernous building, wherever journalists are typically relegated to a basement media room. Sometimes, they're allowed to maraud down cordoned-off areas, hunting for remark arsenic lipid ministers of OPEC countries and their allies — collectively known arsenic OPEC+ — arrive.

Despite that, adjacent the astir nostalgic OPEC journalists volition admit that the group's seminar has had a large venue upgrade.

The Hofburg palace opened its gates to delegates and media implicit July 9-10 for a bid of sessions focusing connected the authorities of play successful the lipid market, hydrocarbon concern and the greenish vigor transition. The league is attended by invitation and accreditation.

For the OPEC seminar, the Hofburg palace laid retired an interminable reddish carpet and equipped 1 of its ballrooms-turned-conference halls with larger-than-life high-tech screens playing OPEC's cinematic relationship of the past of oil.

"I'm definite with this event, determination are rather a fewer radical who would say, 'Damn it, wherefore I wasn't there?'" Saudi Prince and Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman, the de facto person of the OPEC alliance, said during peculiar remarks arsenic the league opened connected Wednesday.

Acknowledging the Austrian government's willingness to "do its utmost to alteration this enactment to past and enactment and be to its function, unhindered by … ineligible concerns and things similar that," helium stressed: "We are present due to the fact that your state is beautiful, the metropolis is historic, and much important, the radical are welcoming."

It turned out, the idyllic charm of Hofburg's sprawling alleyways is nary lucifer for a megaphone.

By 4:45 p.m. section clip connected Wednesday, a radical of astir 30 people, by CNBC's count, had gathered astatine a respectful region crossed the roadworthy from the palace to protestation the OPEC seminar.

A protester concisely starring the chants, who did not privation to beryllium identified, said the objection was successful enactment of the embattled Gaza enclave, which has been targeted by a retaliatory Israeli subject run since the Hamas violent attacks of October 2023. She pointed CNBC to a bid of posts connected the stop_opec Instagram account.

"Sitting atop plentiful lipid resources, Arab regimes output the powerfulness capable to halt Israeli enlargement and situation the West. Yet they take to substance U.S. limb sales, and enrich them with existent estate, simultaneously fortifying Europe's borders," said 1 societal media post.

On the ground, chanting protesters called for an lipid embargo and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz – echoing a menace made by Tehran during its 12-day warfare with Israel past month.

Many Arab states — including Hamas protagonist Iran – person expressed solidarity with the Palestinian cause. CNBC has reached retired to the OPEC Secretariat for remark implicit the protests.

The who's-who of OPEC Seminar speakers spanned ministers of OPEC countries, their allies, cardinal consumers specified arsenic India and Turkey, arsenic good arsenic the CEOs of the biggest names successful the industry, including the heads of BP, TotalEnergies, Shell and Saudi Aramco.

CNBC tried to intercept respective of these delegations.

Ministers from heavyweight producers Russia and Iran — who would apt person been swarmed by journalists amid pressures from European and U.S. sanctions — were notably absent.

Iranian Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad nevertheless delivered opening remarks via videoconference connected Wednesday, successful a code which included immoderate uncommon governmental comments. He stressed the risks that equipped escalations airs to crude markets, specified weeks aft his country, OPEC's third-largest producer, was locked successful a 12-day warfare with Israel.

"This captious and increasing manufacture needs bid to service its ngo of promoting prosperity astatine national, determination and planetary levels; and to beforehand practice and improvement successful a accelerated changing and ever-complicating world," helium said, according to a code readout.

Going into the conference, members of the property can't beryllium begrudged their enthusiasm: OPEC+ — arsenic good arsenic its eight-nation subset who person been carrying retired voluntary cuts successful crude accumulation — person been progressively gathering implicit backstage videoconference, limiting opportunities for property briefings.

At the OPEC seminar, the enactment doesn't commencement astatine the reddish carpet. Often tipped disconnected connected wherever delegations are staying, journalists often involvement retired hotels, hoping for unguarded comments arsenic ministers marque their mode to the conference. CNBC's Emma Graham besides likened the lawsuit to a wedding — nary 1 is getting married, but journalists tin erstwhile again person a bully drawback up with their friends who study connected the lipid market.

Otherwise, astir OPEC reporting is present done done sourced scoops and probing delegates for marketplace views and indicators up of — and during — argumentation meetings. The adjacent 1 is owed connected Aug. 3, betwixt the 8 members who person been progressively (and progressively briskly) unwinding a voluntary 2.2 million-barrels-per-day accumulation cut.