Iran opposes boost in Opec oil output – report

The Islamic Republic of Iran is against any increase in output by Opec oil producers, a top Iranian oil official said yesterday bwfdore a scheduled meeting of the oil cartel in Vienna.

“There is no need to increase production by Opec countries at the 159th meeting of the organisation,” Tehran’s representative to Opec Mohammad Ali Khatibi was quoted as saying on the state television website.

Opec’s second biggest crude producer, Iran favours high oil prices and traditionally opposes an increase in production by the cartel.

“The market is balanced and the downward trend in oil prices means that producers must be very cautious before any increase in output,” he said.

His remarks come beforeOpec’s meeting tomorrow in Vienna, where the new caretaker oil minister Mohammad Aliabadi will make his first appearance, the ministry’s news agency Shana reported.

Iran currently holds the rotating presidency of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, for the first time since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Mr Aliabadi, who took office yesterday, replaced President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who had personally taken charge of Iran’s most strategic sector after dismissing Masoud Mirkazemi as oil minister three weeks ago.

Mr Mirkazemi was sacked after Mr Ahmadinejad decided to merge the oil ministry into the energy portfolio, a decision opposed by lawmakers who have also criticised the appointment of Mr Aliabadi, a close Ahmadinejad ally.

Opec, holding its meeting against the backdrop of stalemate in the Libyan crisis, is likely to leave production quotas un-changed despite soaring crude oil prices beyond the $100 mark in recent months and increased pressure from consumer countries, analysts said.