Wednesday, June 28, 2023

Media: For The Second Time This Month OPEC Pulls Credentials For Bloomberg, Reuters And The WSJ

Maybe the reporters need a pool?

From Bloomberg, June 28:

OPEC Shuts Bloomberg, Reuters and WSJ Out of Oil Conference
    No reason for the decision was given by OPEC secretariat
    It’s the second time OPEC bars journalists in a month 

OPEC has canceled accreditation for reporters from three major news organizations to cover a conference in Vienna that will feature the head of BP Plc and the European Union’s top energy official.

“We are very concerned by the prospect of OPEC excluding certain journalists, including from Bloomberg, from next week’s seminar,” Bloomberg News said in a statement. “For the sake of market transparency, we strongly advocate for OPEC to allow journalists from relevant global news outlets to attend.”

Reuters and the Wall Street Journal have also had their accreditations withdrawn, according to people familiar with the situation. Reuters and the WSJ had no immediate comment.
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which together with allies in the wider OPEC+ coalition sets oil production policy for 23 countries, is gathering for a seminar at the state-owned Hofburg palace in Vienna on July 5-6.

It’s the second time that OPEC has excluded the journalists from its meetings in about a month. In May, the group decided against inviting reporters from Bloomberg, Reuters and the Wall Street Journal to a policy meeting on June 3-4, even as other reporters were allowed to attend. The group defended its decision at the time, without explaining it.

“This is our house,” Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais said at a news conference after that meeting....

....MUCH MORE

Well, there is that but still...actually, OPEC sort of has the journos over a barrel, so to speak.