Iran’s oil minister said yesterday that Tehran believes OPEC should cut production by between 2 million and 2.5 million barrels a day and that prices could go higher than US$150 a barrel.
“The market should find a stable condition and given the 8 [percent] to 10 percent decrease in demand and also given the oil stockpile I think a decrease of between 2 [million] and 2.5 million barrels a day can bring a stable status to the market,” Gholam Hossein Nozari said at a press conference.
Oil prices rose above US$74 a barrel yesterday in Asia as investors expected OPEC to try to halt a three-month slide in prices by cutting production quotas at least 1 million barrels a day.
“Given inflation and the current circumstances of the market, the current oil price is very low, and US$150 should not be out of the question,” Nozari said.
“If oil prices do not reach a realistic level, they will go higher [than US$150],” he said.
Qatari Energy Minister Abdallah bin Hamad al-Attiyah said yesterday that the “best price” for oil was between US$80 and US$90 a barrel.
“In the current situation, the best price is between US$80 and US$90,” he said at a press conference in Tehran.
Attiyah also said OPEC “might be obliged to reduce production to balance supply and demand,” at its meeting on Friday.
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