Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 1
By Khalid Kazimov – Trend:
Iran’s Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh has forecast that the prices of oil will surpass $50 per barrel in near future.
“I assume the oil prices will firmly stand at above $50 per barrel with the cooperation of the non-OPEC [producers],” Zanganed said during a televised interview on Dec. 1, aired by Iranian state broadcaster.
Speaking about the OPEC’s recent decision to curb the level of its output, the oil minister touched upon the existing disagreements between Iran and Saudi Arabia, saying the outcome of the OPEC meeting showed that despite the political differences it is possible to cooperate and interact.
He further said that a recent phone conversation between Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin also contributed to the OPEC decision.
According to the minister, Russia agreed to cut its daily production by 300,000 barrels per day after the discussion between the two presidents.
Saying that Iran is currently capable of producing about 3.9 million barrels of oil per day, he added that the country needs to increase its oil production capacity.
Oil soared more than 10 percent on Wednesday to over $50 per barrel as some of the world's largest producers agreed to curb production for the first time since 2008 in a bid to support the prices, Reuters reported.