OPEC member states should self-regulate so Iran's expected return to the oil stage won't hurt markets, Iran's oil minister said Tuesday from Tehran.
Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zangeneh said members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries should cut output in an effort to stimulate oil prices.
"Even the most conservative OPEC member states do not believe that OPEC production should exceed 30 million barrels per day and we believe that this amount should be cut by at least 5 percent," he said.
A November decision by OPEC to keep output steady at 30 million bpd added downward pressure to crude oil trading in an over-supplied market. Crude oil prices are down about 50 percent from their June 2014 highs.
OPEC's decision was seen as a de facto price war aimed at pushing U.S. shale out of the market. Iran's oil minister said his country, an adversary of OPEC leader Saudi Arabia, has "no quarrel" with any producers.
"OPEC is mature enough to regulate itself so that the market would not be harmed after Iran returns to its previous quota," he said.
Zangeneh issued an appeal to fellow OPEC members in September, saying member states should make production adjustments to keep oil prices from falling.
Iran and international powers brokered a framework agreement that pulls the Islamic republic back from the nuclear brink in exchange for economic concessions. Sanctions remain in place until an agreement is formalized.
Iranian oil production of 2.78 million barrels per day in February was close to the recent record established in December. Iranian oil production for full-year 2013, the year in which the current round of multilateral negotiations began, was 2.6 million bpd.
