The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) member states should cut crude production to boost prices to a range of $70 to $80 a barrel, Iran’s oil minister Bijan Zanganeh has said.
“No one is happy” with prices at current levels, Zanganeh told reporters in Tehran. “Opec should decide to manage the market by reducing the level of production.”
Even so, Zanganeh said he doesn’t expect the OPEC to decide to reduce output when its ministers meet next in December.
Opec has produced more than its official target of 30mn barrels per day (bpd) for 16 consecutive months, as the group seeks to defend sales amid a global supply glut.
Brent crude, a global benchmark, has slumped by over 40% in the last 12 months and is currently trading below $50 a barrel.
The Opec plans to assess output when oil ministers from its 12 members meet on December 4 in Vienna.
Also, Roknoddin Javadi, managing director of the state-run National Iranian Oil Company, told reporters in Tehran that Iran can boost oil exports by 500,bpd within a week after the removal of economic sanctions.
The nation can raise exports by 1mn bpd within six months once the curbs are lifted, in a push to regain the share of the world market it lost due to restrictions imposed over its nuclear program, he said.
Iran targets crude production of 4.7mn bpd by March 2021 and plans to produce 1mn bpd of crude condensates by the same date, Javadi said.
The Islamic Republic pumped 2.8mn bpd of oil in September, according to official data.
