Iran’s OPEC envoy, Kazem Gharibabadi, met in Vienna with the secretary-general of OPEC, Mohammed Barkindo, to discuss the global oil market.
In a tweet, Gharibabadi said, “I had a fruitful consultation today with #OPEC SG #HEBarkindo. We reviewed the latest developments on international oil market and OPEC.”
The meeting comes as the oil trading world awaits the return of Iran to global oil markets once U.S. sanctions are lifted. Many expect this to happen soon, but some observers are taking a more guarded approach as details still remain to be hammered out.
Meanwhile, Iran’s oil minister, Bijan Zanganeh, told Iranian state media that the country had decided not to further boost oil production despite the improving economic outlook for Iran.
Zanganeh’s latest comments come soon after the minister said Iran could boost oil production to 6.5 million barrels daily.
“The next Iranian government should make it a top priority to raise oil production to 6.5 million barrels a day,” Zanganeh said in Tehran at the end of May. Higher oil production will also give Iran more political clout, according to the minister.
Iran currently pumps around 2.5 million bpd and last produced close to the 6-million-bpd mark in the early 1970s.
The U.S.-Iran nuclear deal talks continue. The prospect of a deal weighed on oil this week after last week, benchmarks logged their best performance in two years, with Brent crude topping $72 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate hitting $70 per barrel.
If the deal is struck and Iran can once again export its oil freely, it will take a while for Iranian exports to return, Amrita Sen, head of research at Energy Aspects, told Bloomberg earlier this month.
Once a deal is agreed, the White House would have to send it to Congress for review, and this review could take up to 60 days, Sen said.
(Oilprice.com, June 8, 2021)
