The last surviving delegate from the conference that founded Opec has died at his home in Abu Dhabi.
After the July 17 Revolution brought hard-line members of the Ba’ath party to power in 1968, he left Iraq for Abu Dhabi, using his expertise to assist in the setting up of the new national oil company in 1971.
Abdullah Ismail was Iraq’s deputy minister of oil and part of his country’s delegation to the historic 1960 Baghdad Conference that resulted in the formation of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.
Opec was established as a response to the price manipulation carried out by oil firms, which disregarded the interests of oil-producing countries and their people, the rightful owners of the resource
Abdullah Ismail
Interviewed for the 60th anniversary of Opec last year, he explained that the organisation had been set up “as a response to the price manipulation carried out by oil firms which disregarded the interests of oil-producing countries and their people, the rightful owners of the resources".
Concerned that prices were being driven down by a cartel of oil companies, the Iraqi government invited Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela — the major oil producers at the time — to Baghdad on September 10, 1960.
The result was a decision to find ways to co-ordinate prices in a way that benefited the producers, with a second meeting in 1961 that agreed to set up the headquarters of Opec in Vienna and with Iran’s representative, Dr Fuad Rouhani, as the first Secretary General.
“The organisation … has played a key role in safeguarding the interests of oil-producing countries and embracing many legitimate rights that were impossible or difficult to acquire before Opec,” Mr Ismail said.
Abu Dhabi joined Opec in 1967, expanding to UAE membership after the creation of the union on December 2, 1971.
By then events had led to Ismail's relocation to Abu Dhabi, where he was able to offer his services to Sheikh Zayed, Ruler of Abu Dhabi and future first President while he was preparing to unite the seven emirates as the UAE.
There he joined diplomat Adnan Pachachi, another Iraqi exile, who was advising on foreign policy. Ismail's expertise in the oil industry made him a valued adviser to Mana Saeed Al Otaiba, who would become the UAE’s first Minister for Petroleum, with Ismail as undersecretary at the ministry.
The creation of the UAE required a national strategy for management of the new country’s energy resources, with Adnoc eventually raising its share of the offshore and onshore concessions to a majority 60 per cent by 1974.
In his role as undersecretary Ismail gained the respect of all who dealt with him, with a visiting delegation of British members of parliament in 1975 noting that he “spoke with complete frankness and lucidity".
In an interview for the Ministry of the Interior magazine 999 in 2014, he told of being asked almost on arrival in 1968 to represent Abu Dhabi for a meeting of the economic council of the Arab League in Cairo.
Explaining that he was still technically employed by the Iraqi government, he recalled that Ahmed bin Suwaidi, Sheikh Zayed’s foreign adviser and future Foreign Minister of the UAE, immediately ordered a telex “to the Baghdad government and [to] tell them that Abdullah Ismail has resigned from the Iraqi Oil Ministry".
A decree from the Ruler followed, making Ismail a citizen and confirming his member of the circle that would forge the new country.
Abdullah Ismail Bachi passed away on Tuesday evening, November 16, 2021 in Abu Dhabi, and was buried at Baniyas Cemetary.
Condolences will take place from 6pm to 9pm on Saturday November 20 at Al Thuraya Hall of the Beach Rotana Hotel.
He is survived by his wife Tamima Toufiq Al Dabbas and children Firas, Inas and Ahmad.
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
Why are asylum seekers being housed in hotels?
The number of asylum applications in the UK has reached a new record high, driven by those illegally entering the country in small boats crossing the English Channel.
A total of 111,084 people applied for asylum in the UK in the year to June 2025, the highest number for any 12-month period since current records began in 2001.
Asylum seekers and their families can be housed in temporary accommodation while their claim is assessed.
The Home Office provides the accommodation, meaning asylum seekers cannot choose where they live.
When there is not enough housing, the Home Office can move people to hotels or large sites like former military bases.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Company%20profile
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The design
The protective shell is covered in solar panels to make use of light and produce energy. This will drastically reduce energy loss.
More than 80 per cent of the energy consumed by the French pavilion will be produced by the sun.
The architecture will control light sources to provide a highly insulated and airtight building.
The forecourt is protected from the sun and the plants will refresh the inner spaces.
A micro water treatment plant will recycle used water to supply the irrigation for the plants and to flush the toilets. This will reduce the pavilion’s need for fresh water by 30 per cent.
Energy-saving equipment will be used for all lighting and projections.
Beyond its use for the expo, the pavilion will be easy to dismantle and reuse the material.
Some elements of the metal frame can be prefabricated in a factory.
From architects to sound technicians and construction companies, a group of experts from 10 companies have created the pavilion.
Work will begin in May; the first stone will be laid in Dubai in the second quarter of 2019.
Construction of the pavilion will take 17 months from May 2019 to September 2020.
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
The years Ramadan fell in May
Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
Friday's schedule in Madrid
Men's quarter-finals
Novak Djokivic (1) v Marin Cilic (9) from 2pm UAE time
Roger Federer (4) v Dominic Thiem (5) from 7pm
Stefanos Tsitsipas (8) v Alexander Zverev (3) from 9.30pm
Stan Wawrinka v Rafael Nadal (2) from 11.30pm
Women's semi-finals
Belinda Bencic v Simona Halep (3) from 4.30pm
Sloane Stephens (8) v Kiki Bertens (7) from 10pm
The Bloomberg Billionaire Index in full
1 Jeff Bezos $140 billion
2 Bill Gates $98.3 billion
3 Bernard Arnault $83.1 billion
4 Warren Buffett $83 billion
5 Amancio Ortega $67.9 billion
6 Mark Zuckerberg $67.3 billion
7 Larry Page $56.8 billion
8 Larry Ellison $56.1 billion
9 Sergey Brin $55.2 billion
10 Carlos Slim $55.2 billion
