“It’s not a matter of discussion with anyone to limit the level of production of Iran” below 4 million barrels a day, Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh told reporters Thursday.
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The increase indicates the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is again pumping close to a record high as Saudi Arabia and other big producers focus on market share.
Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies will reject fellow OPEC members’ calls to cut oil output, Iran said on Wednesday.
Brent crude, a global benchmark, has slumped about 40 percent in the past year as Saudi Arabia, Russia and the US boosted output.
“We will discuss… and then decide” on output, Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said Tuesday in Vienna, home to Opec’s headquarters.
On Wednesday, the Energy Information Administration, the US Department of Energy’s statistical arm, reported an unexpected build in US commercial crude oil inventories for the week ending on 27 November.
Brent crude LCOc1 was down 85 cents at $43.59 a barrel by 1430 GMT, falling for a fifth consecutive session.
“Quantitative easing programs around the world have pushed up prices of risk assets, so it certainly won’t do potential upside for oil too much harm”, said Brun.
Opec’s 12 members have pumped more than their collective production target of 30m barrels a day the past 18 months, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Even the slightest reduction of production capacity will help to lift the burden of global oil over capacity that has been putting pressure on oil prices since a year ago.
The bank said member countries are unlikely to agree on any production cuts, meaning oil prices will remain weaker.
OPEC, however, is not expected to budge from its stance of keeping output high to defend market share against producers such as Russian Federation and North America. The group, however, has been producing a million more barrels than its ceiling for the past 16 months.
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Goldman looked at 4 popular energy trading vehicles – Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE), United States Oil Fund (USO), SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Explore & Production ETF (XOP), as well as Oil Service Holdings (OIH).
