EMEA News
Iran Oil Output Slides, But Will Officially Announce 500,000 bpd Production Hike at Next OPEC Meeting
Iranian oil output last month fell 100,000 barrels a day (bpd) to 2.7 million, but the change could be short-lived as Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh says he is set to notify the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) at the group's December meeting that the country is planning to raise its crude output by 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) in early 2016, Reuters reports.
"We...ask them to respect the 30-million-barrel ceiling which they have agreed," stated Zanganeh.
"Iran is prepared to supply at least 500,000 bpd of crude oil to global markets."
Although OPEC is already pumping at a reported near record high, Iran is looking to claw back the oil revenues and market share that it has lost as a result of sanctions imposed against the country.
Iran is also reported to be planning to focus its post-sanction oil sales toward Asia, but Zanganeh said that "if we cannot sell our oil in Asia, Tehran will also consider European and South African markets."
Zanganeh also noted that he does not expect that the planned Iranian output increase will affect oil prices, but several analysts have warned that without output adjustment elsewhere, crude could be pushed down as low as $30 per barrel.
In September Iran indicated that the country aims to boost oil output to 4.2 million bpd by the end of 2016.
