OPEC’s new secretary general stated that Russia’s membership in OPEC+ is vital to the agreement’s success, according to Reuters report.

Kuwait’s former OPEC governor, Al-Ghais, will chair his first OPEC+ meeting on Aug. 3, during which the group will consider keeping oil output unchanged for September.

He said OPEC does not compete with Russia, calling it “a main and highly influential player in the world energy map”.

It’s also possible to discuss a modest output increase, eight sources told Reuters last week.

AL-Ghais told Alrai newspaper that “OPEC doesn’t control oil prices, but it practices what is called tuning the markets in terms of supply and demand,” describing the current state of the oil market as “very volatile and turbulent.”

When asked about the factors that will affect oil prices by the end of the year, al-Ghais said: “In my view, the most important factor will be the continued lack of investments in the field of drilling, exploration and production.”

“This will push prices in an upward direction, but we cannot determine the level they will reach,” he added.