Iran backs any move to stabilize oil market: Oil minister

Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh says Tehran will support any initiative to stabilize the oil market after recent talks in Qatar failed to freeze production.

Zanganeh told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting with his South African counterpart in Tehran on Saturday that the meeting between OPEC and non-OPEC producers in Doha was a “good step.”

“Despite failing to have a result, the start of the negotiation was good for OPEC and non-OPEC to cooperate and for big OPEC producers to accept that they have to do something to change the situation,” he added.

OPEC, Russia and Mexico failed to come up with any decision at last Sunday’s meeting after Saudi Arabia demanded that Iran join in an output freeze despite calls on Riyadh to save the agreement and help prop up crude prices.

Iran has been ramping up production following the lifting of Western sanctions in January to claw back its market share.

On Saturday, the Iranian oil minister said the Islamic Republic is close to the export levels before the sanctions.

“Iran’s oil production has approached very close to the level before sanctions and our oil output has increased by 1 million barrels per day after the cancellation of the sanctions,” he said.

“This trend will continue until Iran’s market share reaches the level before the sanctions,” Zanganeh added.

EA