Opec has delayed a meeting of officials to help select its new secretary general, delegates from the oil producers' group said, putting off delicate talks that could reignite rivalry for influence as Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq seek the top post.

A panel of officials was initially planned to convene at the Vienna headquarters of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) during August, but the meeting is now more likely to take place in October, officials said.

Opec has often struggled to agree on a secretary general and the task of appointing a successor to the outgoing Abdullah Al Badri comes as western sanctions on Iran have heightened political tensions within the 12-member group.

Without a decision on the post before December, Opec could start 2013 without a permanent figurehead, potentially adding to its difficulties in managing the oil market should predictions of a slowdown in global oil demand prove to be correct.

Four of Opec’s 12 members have put forward potential successors to Badri, a Libyan whose term finishes at the end of 2012.

The panel, consisting mainly of Opec governors – oil officials who represent their countries on the group’s board of governors – will review the candidates and consider how the organisation should proceed, officials said. “There are some options to have a meeting but we have not agreed yet,” an Opec delegate, who like other officials declined to be identified, said. “It was in August but then changed to October. It has not been finalised.”

Several delegates said the August talks were delayed because of difficulty in fixing the meeting around participants’ schedules. But one said the group was reluctant to tackle the succession at present. “Opec doesn’t want to deal with this delicate issue at this time and would rather delay it,” the delegate said. Any decision on Badri’s successor will be made by Opec’s oil ministers, who are next scheduled to meet in December.

On Thursday, New York crude oil prices hit a fresh three-month peak after encouraging economic figures in top consumer the US.

New York’s main contract, light sweet crude for September, jumped as high as $ 95.14, following upbeat jobless claims and housing construction data. It later stood at $ 94.82, up 49 cents from Wednesday’s closing level.

Brent meanwhile slipped 20 cents to $ 116.05 per barrel approaching midday in London, one day after striking $ 116.72 — the highest level since early May.

The secretary general is the main representative on the world stage of the producer group, helps formulate its output policy and is in charge of Opec’s Vienna secretariat.

Saudi Arabia nominated its Opec governor, Majid Al Moneef, for the role, officials said in January. It was followed by Iraq, which proposed Thamir Ghadhban, energy adviser to Iraq’s prime minister. Iran nominated a former oil minister, Gholam Hossein Nozari, and Ecuador also put a candidate forward.