Freezing output is ‘a joke’, says Iran’s oil minister

Iran’s oil minister has called the proposal to freeze oil production at January levels “a joke,” as the country looks to increase output since international sanctions against it have lifted, Iranian media reported on Tuesday.

“This is more like a joke that they tell us they would freeze their production above 10 million bpd (barrels per day) and that we should also in turn freeze our production at 1 million bpd,” Bijan Zangeneh was quoted as saying by the broadcaster, Press TV.

Iran’s comments come in the wake of Saudi Arabian and Russian attempts to work out an agreement to get major exporters – including Iraq and Iran – to cap output at January levels.

On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia’s oil minister Ali Al-Naimi said at the IHS CERAWeek conference in Houston that his country would not make any production cuts, but instead focus on finalizing a deal with major producers on freezing output at January levels.

"The freeze I'm sure will give people in the market some hope, that something will happen and it will happen - but we are not banking on cuts because there is less trust," Al-Naimi said.

Tehran, meanwhile, aims to reach daily crude oil output of 4.6 million barrels under the 6th five-year development plan (2016-2021), oil ministry’s news agency Shana reported citing comments from Zangeneh.

“$40 million in investments is needed for developing the country's oil industry under the plan,” Zangeneh was quoted as saying.