Algeria’s oil minister on Friday said two separate agreements could be required between OPEC and non-OPEC producers.
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Meanwhile, Gulf producers led by Saudi Arabia are insisting that for any deal OPEC members should stick to OPEC’s secondary sources data to put everyone on a level playing field, the source added. There has been tension in the oil markets ever since sanctions against Iran were lifted, thereby allowing the Islamic Republic to ramp up oil production to pre-sanctions levels.
Crude oil prices have slipped to $47 per barrel on low expectations that Russian Federation and Saudi Arabia will actually take significant action to stabilise the oil market.
The price for Brent crude oil moved lower by 0.75 percent to start the trading day in NY at $46.48 per barrel.
NEW YORK, Sept 7 (Reuters) – Oil prices rose 1.5 percent on Wednesday as the market focused on the possibility that the world’s top producers would agree on an output freeze. That level is “slightly” above 4 million barrels a day, and Iran may reach it by the end of 2016 or early next year, Mohsen Ghamsari, director for worldwide affairs at state-run National Iranian Oil Co., said Thursday in an interview in Singapore.
After meeting with OPEC Secretary-General Mohammed Barkendo, Iran’s Oil Minister Bijan Zangeneh said Tuesday that his country would support any OPEC decision that seeks to stabilize the oil market, state TV reported, according to the Associated Press (http://bigstory.ap.org/article/7d327bcd018d47d2a203c0d84806ea88/oil-minister-iran-backs-opec-moves-geared-toward-stability).
Aside, strong USA dollar has also placed a negative impact on the oil prices and also other dollar-priced commodities. Russia, alongside the U.S., is one of the two biggest non-OPEC producers. Only Iran and potentially Iraq could raise output in the medium term.
The last talk on output freeze collapsed in April as Saudi Arabia refused to sign on without Iran’s participation.
In late 2000s, Iran was the second producer in OPEC with a total production of 4.2 million barrels per day, with 2.5 million barrels exported.
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The recent developments mounted speculation that OPEC nations and Russian Federation may reach an agreement to freeze production. He said earlier in the week that Iran could reach its target in two to three months.
