Algeria’s energy minister will meet his Saudi counterpart and OPEC’s secretary-general in Paris on Friday as part of moves towards clinching a global deal on stabilizing crude output to support oil prices, an Algerian official and OPEC sources said. Bijan Namdar Zangeneh made his comments on September 6 after talks in Tehran with OPEC head Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, Iranian state TV reported.
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In a statement published by OPEC, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said it was “vital” for Iran to regain its pre-sanctions production levels even though his country supported any OPEC efforts to restore global price stability.
Iran has said that it is willing to restrain production, but only when it is pumping as much as it did before sanctions were imposed, or roughly 4 million barrels per day.
Nationwide crude inventories plunged by 12.1 million barrels in the week to Sept 2, according to data released late Wednesday from the American Petroleum Institute.
The world’s two largest oil producers, Russian Federation and Saudi Arabia, on Monday agreed to act together to stabilize global oil output, though it’s unclear what that might entail.
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Despite rebounding this year, oil is trading at less than half mid-2014 peaks above $100 a barrel.
If production is stabilized at early-2015 levels, it would effectively mean a cut as most producers – including Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iraq and Iran – have ramped up output since then.
Brent crude, the benchmark for more than half the world’s oil, was up 0.7 percent at $47.58 a barrel by 1:35 p.m. Singapore time. “Iran wants to go back to increase production, find their old customers and get their market back”, Takin said.
LONDON – Oil rose on Wednesday to pare some of the previous day’s losses, partly thanks to a weaker U.S. dollar, but the limited likelihood of a near-term agreement among the world’s biggest exporters to rein in production kept gains in check.
Non-OPEC member Russian Federation, the world’s top oil producer, is also expected to attend the IEF.
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Rouhani noted that Iran had suffered greatly under sanctions, and it was vital for the country to make up for its lost oil production, said the message from OPEC.
