OPEC inches closer to boosting oil output after Iran’s approval
OPEC appeared to be on the brink of raising oil supply on Friday, after Iran’s Petroleum Minister Bijan Zangeneh hoped that it would reach an agreement over oil production ceiling.
Energy ministers have been laying the groundwork all week for Friday's biannual meeting in Vienna, Austria, where OPEC is expected to ease supply constraints that have been in place since January 2017, CNBC reported.
OPEC kingpin Saudi Arabia and non-member Russia have urged major suppliers to ramp up production by about 1 million barrels per day (bpd) after 18 months of tight output controls. The proposal had become a near-consensus among the 14-member group and its allied partners, but Iran has so far been the main barrier to an agreement.
The prospect of the gathering ending without a deal remained a possibility just hours before a final decision is due to be made, with the start of the OPEC meeting having to be pushed back because of last-minute talks between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Speaking to reporters in a conference room Friday, Iranian Petroleum Minister Bijan Zanganeh said that a private discussion with Saudi Arabia's energy minister ahead of the meeting had been successful. He added Tehran would be content with crude prices at around $70 a barrel.
When asked whether OPEC and its allies could reach a deal on Friday, Zanganeh replied: 'We are cooking something.'