Iran sees no reason for OPEC output change

Iran’s representative to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) says there is no valid justification for the group to change its oil production targets.

“Considering the current supply and demand situation in the oil market, it is likely that OPEC maintain the quota at a forthcoming meeting in December, should conditions be met,” Iran’s OPEC governor Mohammad-Ali Khatibi told Mehr news agency on Saturday.

OPEC is scheduled to discuss its production quotas at its meeting in Angola December 22.

Khatibi said the oil market outlook for the next six months shows there would not be a considerable increase in the crude demand.

“Considering this situation, an increase in the OPEC oil quota will create pressure on oil prices in the global market,” he added.

Most OPEC members believe it is too early to decide on any changes in output, as stockpiles remain high.

The Algerian energy minister Wednesday said that OPEC members are going to keep the same output level until they have a clearer vision of the world economic situation.

The producer group has kept official production targets unchanged at meetings this year, after it agreed to curb output by 4.2 million barrels per day last year.

According to the US’s EIA forecasts, in 2010 OPEC’s oil production will increase to 29.4 million barrels per day based on the underlying assumption of recovery in global demand.

(Source: Press TV)

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