Iran welcomes oil output freeze, but doesn't commit to it

Iran’s oil minister, Bijan Zangeneh, has welcomed the Saudi-Russian deal to freeze output at January’s record-high levels.

“The decision taken so that OPEC members and non-OPEC (countries) freeze their production ceiling in a bid to stabilize the market and improve prices in the interest of consumer and producer is also supported by us,” Zangeneh said following talks between major oil producers in Tehran. 

“I hope that with the efforts which have been initiated, we would witness improvement of the market’s situation in future… I think everybody agrees that we have to monitor the market situation and reaction and to consult on the next steps if necessary,” he added.

Zangeneh, however, did not explicitly mention that Iran would maintain its own output at January levels.

Oil ministers from Iraq, Qatar and Venezuela had joined Zangeneh on Wednesday to discuss the proposal and were briefed on Iran’s plans to return to the oil market.

The meeting came a day after Russia, Saudi Arabia and other key OPEC members came to an agreement in Doha to keep a ceiling on oil production.

Oil prices soared on the news after remaining volatile for most of the day. Brent crude was up nearly 7 percent to $34.39 per barrel (bbl), while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude surged 6 percent to $30.79/bbl.

Write to Joumana Saad at joumana.saad@argaamplus.com