Iran to push for cut in Saudi oil production at OPEC meeting
Iran will try to persuade Saudi Arabia to cut oil production when the oil ministers from the two OPEC members meet this week in Vienna, Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency reported on Sunday, citing a television interview with the country’s oil minister. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries meets on Thursday to set its output policy and some of its members have called for output cuts to shore up oil prices. Brent crude oil has lost about 30% of its value since June to around US$80 a barrel because of abundant supplies and weakening demand. “Iran’s oil minister will meet his Saudi counterpart in Vienna to persuade the oil giant for cuts in oil production and supply,” Mehr reported. But an agreement on an OPEC output cut at this week’s meeting is uncertain. Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter, has yet to say whether it supports one. Iran has said the steep fall in oil prices this year is the result of deliberate moves by some exporters that have kept production high to undermine Tehran’s sanctions-hit economy. Reuters
