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Iran may hold oil talks with Saudi Arabia

Oil&Gas Materials 24 May 2015 11:31 (UTC +04:00)
Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said he may hold talks with his Saudi counterpart Ali Al-Naimi during the upcoming Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) meeting.
Iran may hold oil talks with Saudi Arabia

Tehran, Iran, May 24

By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:

Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said he may hold talks with his Saudi counterpart Ali Al-Naimi during the upcoming Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) meeting.

Iran does not hold a grudge against any country, Zanganeh said, Mehr news agency reported May 24.

The Iranian oil minister's remarks come while political situations are tough between the two Middle East powers following the recent changes in Yemen.

Saudi Arabia accuses Tehran of having helped the Yemeni Houthi group topple the country's former government and taking control over the country. Iran denies the involvement.

Zanganeh further said that both Iran and Saudi Arabia would like the OPEC oil production to rise, seeing it as a common ground between the two countries.

OPEC oil basket price was about $108/barrel in the first half of 2014, but currently the figure is a little more than $62.

Iran's oil export during the pre-sanctions time was about 2.5 million barrels per day (mb/a), but the figure currently stands at around 1.1 mb/d. The country seeks to boost production once sanctions on its economy are removed, something expected to come true through an end-June political deal with the group 5+1 (the US, UK, France, Russia, China, and Germany).

OPEC increased a production level for the second consecutive month in April to above 31 mb/d.

Zanganeh refrained from commenting whether OPEC may reduce its oil production following a session to be held in a couple of weeks, stating that doing so would require a general consent by member-states.

Currently, OPEC has 12 member countries: Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Venezuela.

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