diff --git a/packages/openbabel/package.py b/packages/openbabel/package.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..37be524cc8f9defeea12ee4ae805426267fa7aa5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/openbabel/package.py
@@ -0,0 +1,92 @@
+# Copyright 2013-2023 Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC and other
+# Spack Project Developers. See the top-level COPYRIGHT file for details.
+#
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: (Apache-2.0 OR MIT)
+
+from spack.package import *
+
+
+class Openbabel(CMakePackage):
+ """Open Babel is a chemical toolbox designed to speak the many languages
+ of chemical data. It's an open, collaborative project allowing anyone to
+ search, convert, analyze, or store data from molecular modeling, chemistry,
+ solid-state materials, biochemistry, or related areas."""
+
+ homepage = "https://openbabel.org/wiki/Main_Page"
+ url = "https://github.com/openbabel/openbabel/archive/openbabel-3-0-0.tar.gz"
+ git = "https://github.com/openbabel/openbabel.git"
+
+ maintainers("RMeli")
+
+ version("master", branch="master")
+ version("3.1.1", tag="openbabel-3-1-1")
+ version("3.1.0", tag="openbabel-3-1-0")
+ version("3.0.0", tag="openbabel-3-0-0")
+ version("2.4.1", tag="openbabel-2-4-1")
+ version("2.4.0", tag="openbabel-2-4-0")
+
+ variant("python", default=True, description="Build Python bindings")
+ variant("gui", default=True, description="Build with GUI")
+ variant("cairo", default=True, description="Build with Cairo (PNG output support)")
+ variant("openmp", default=False, description="Build with OpenMP")
+ variant("maeparser", default=False, description="Built with MAE parser")
+ variant("coordgen", default=False, description="Build with Coordgen")
+
+ extends("python", when="+python")
+
+ depends_on("python", type=("build", "run"), when="+python")
+ depends_on("cmake@3.1:", type="build")
+ depends_on("pkgconfig", type="build")
+ depends_on("swig@2.0:", type="build", when="+python")
+
+ depends_on("boost +filesystem +iostreams +test")
+ depends_on("cairo", when="+cairo") # required to support PNG depiction
+ depends_on("pango", when="+cairo") # custom cairo requires custom pango
+ depends_on("eigen@3.0:") # required if using the language bindings
+ depends_on("libxml2") # required to read/write CML files, XML formats
+ depends_on("zlib") # required to support reading gzipped files
+ depends_on("rapidjson") # required to support JSON
+ depends_on("libsm")
+ depends_on("uuid")
+
+ depends_on("maeparser", when="+maeparser")
+ depends_on("coordgen", when="+coordgen")
+
+ # Needed for Python 3.6 support
+ patch("python-3.6-rtld-global.patch", when="@:2.4.1+python")
+
+ # Convert tabs to spaces. Allows unit tests to pass
+ patch("testpdbformat-tabs-to-spaces.patch", when="@:2.4.1")
+
+ def cmake_args(self):
+ spec = self.spec
+ args = []
+
+ if "+python" in spec:
+ args.extend(
+ [
+ "-DPYTHON_BINDINGS=ON",
+ "-DPYTHON_EXECUTABLE={0}".format(spec["python"].command.path),
+ "-DRUN_SWIG=ON",
+ ]
+ )
+ else:
+ args.append("-DPYTHON_BINDINGS=OFF")
+
+ args.append(self.define_from_variant("BUILD_GUI", "gui"))
+ args.append(self.define_from_variant("ENABLE_OPENMP", "openmp"))
+ args.append(self.define_from_variant("WITH_MAEPARSER", "maeparser"))
+ args.append(self.define_from_variant("WITH_COORDGEN", "coordgen"))
+
+ return args
+
+ @run_after("install")
+ @on_package_attributes(run_tests=True)
+ def check_install(self):
+ obabel = Executable(join_path(self.prefix.bin, "obabel"))
+ obabel("-:C1=CC=CC=C1Br", "-omol")
+
+ if "+python" in self.spec:
+ python("-c", "import openbabel")
+ if self.spec.version < Version("3.0.0"):
+ python("-c", "import pybel")
diff --git a/packages/openbabel/python-3.6-rtld-global.patch b/packages/openbabel/python-3.6-rtld-global.patch
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..68cd56a1f5c7dd66df0f76598b81a098c84d3f14
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/openbabel/python-3.6-rtld-global.patch
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+The DLFCN module has been removed from python 3.6, as it is not
+documented. Same funtionality can be achive with the os module
+that makes available the os.RTLD_GLOBAL variable for dlopen()
+
+See https://github.com/openbabel/openbabel/pull/372 for the
+source of this patch. The original patch only affects the CMake
+file that SWIG uses to generate openbabel.py. This patch also
+includes changes to openbabel.py.
+
+diff -Nuar a/scripts/CMakeLists.txt b/scripts/CMakeLists.txt
+--- a/scripts/CMakeLists.txt 2017-05-17 10:02:54.408527942 -0500
++++ b/scripts/CMakeLists.txt 2017-05-17 10:04:09.701598715 -0500
+@@ -81,11 +81,8 @@
+ COMMAND ${SWIG_EXECUTABLE} -python -c++ -small -O -templatereduce -naturalvar -I${openbabel_SOURCE_DIR}/include -I${openbabel_BINARY_DIR}/include -o ${openbabel_SOURCE_DIR}/scripts/python/openbabel-python.cpp ${eigen_define} -outdir ${openbabel_SOURCE_DIR}/scripts/python ${openbabel_SOURCE_DIR}/scripts/openbabel-python.i
+ COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} -E echo "import sys" > ob.py
+ COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} -E echo "if sys.platform.find('linux'\) != -1:" >> ob.py
+- COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} -E echo " try:" >> ob.py
+- COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} -E echo " import dl" >> ob.py
+- COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} -E echo " except ImportError:" >> ob.py
+- COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} -E echo " import DLFCN as dl" >> ob.py
+- COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} -E echo " sys.setdlopenflags(sys.getdlopenflags() | dl.RTLD_GLOBAL)" >> ob.py
++ COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} -E echo " import os" >> ob.py
++ COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} -E echo " sys.setdlopenflags(sys.getdlopenflags() | os.RTLD_GLOBAL)" >> ob.py
+ COMMAND cat ${openbabel_SOURCE_DIR}/scripts/python/openbabel.py >> ob.py
+ COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} -E copy ob.py ${openbabel_SOURCE_DIR}/scripts/python/openbabel.py
+ COMMAND ${CMAKE_COMMAND} -E remove ob.py
+diff -Nuar a/scripts/python/openbabel.py b/scripts/python/openbabel.py
+--- a/scripts/python/openbabel.py 2017-05-17 10:02:54.398527534 -0500
++++ b/scripts/python/openbabel.py 2017-05-17 10:04:26.705292138 -0500
+@@ -1,10 +1,7 @@
+ import sys
+ if sys.platform.find('linux') != -1:
+- try:
+- import dl
+- except ImportError:
+- import DLFCN as dl
+- sys.setdlopenflags(sys.getdlopenflags() | dl.RTLD_GLOBAL)
++ import os
++ sys.setdlopenflags(sys.getdlopenflags() | os.RTLD_GLOBAL)
+ # This file was automatically generated by SWIG (http://www.swig.org).
+ # Version 3.0.10
+ #
diff --git a/packages/openbabel/testpdbformat-tabs-to-spaces.patch b/packages/openbabel/testpdbformat-tabs-to-spaces.patch
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000000000000000000000000000000..0a71a72e014ad1b5cd895599c97cfa6e66eef582
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/openbabel/testpdbformat-tabs-to-spaces.patch
@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+From 08cd38485d4cf1df8802da540f3018921dbc735e Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
+From: "Adam J. Stewart" <ajstewart426@gmail.com>
+Date: Wed, 17 May 2017 10:56:23 -0500
+Subject: [PATCH] Convert tabs to spaces in testpdbformat.py
+
+See https://github.com/openbabel/openbabel/pull/1568
+
+---
+ test/testpdbformat.py | 12 ++++++------
+ 1 file changed, 6 insertions(+), 6 deletions(-)
+
+diff --git a/test/testpdbformat.py b/test/testpdbformat.py
+index 40bd316..ceb8496 100644
+--- a/test/testpdbformat.py
++++ b/test/testpdbformat.py
+@@ -24,12 +24,12 @@ class TestPDBFormat(BaseTest):
+
+ def testInsertionCodes(self):
+ """
+- Testing a PDB entry with insertion codes to distinguish residues
+- upon conversion to FASTA.
++ Testing a PDB entry with insertion codes to distinguish residues
++ upon conversion to FASTA.
+ """
+ self.canFindExecutable("babel")
+
+- self.entryPDBwithInsertioncodes="""ATOM 406 N VAL L 29 58.041 17.797 48.254 1.00 0.00 N
++ self.entryPDBwithInsertioncodes="""ATOM 406 N VAL L 29 58.041 17.797 48.254 1.00 0.00 N
+ ATOM 407 CA VAL L 29 57.124 18.088 47.170 1.00 0.00 C
+ ATOM 408 C VAL L 29 55.739 17.571 47.538 1.00 0.00 C
+ ATOM 409 O VAL L 29 55.535 16.362 47.550 1.00 0.00 O
+@@ -100,9 +100,9 @@ ATOM 473 HE1 TYR L 32 48.512 15.775 42.066 1.00 0.00 H
+ ATOM 474 HE2 TYR L 32 48.145 19.172 44.648 1.00 0.00 H
+ ATOM 475 HH TYR L 32 46.462 17.658 44.280 1.00 0.00 H
+ """
+- output, error = run_exec(self.entryPDBwithInsertioncodes,
+- "babel -ipdb -ofasta")
+- self.assertEqual(output.rstrip().rsplit("\n",1)[1], "VSSSY")
++ output, error = run_exec(self.entryPDBwithInsertioncodes,
++ "babel -ipdb -ofasta")
++ self.assertEqual(output.rstrip().rsplit("\n",1)[1], "VSSSY")
+
+ if __name__ == "__main__":
+ testsuite = []
+--
+2.9.4
+