Zanganeh: OPEC could agree in June to start easing oil output cuts in 2019

Zanganeh further told the Wall Street Journal that Iran wanted OPEC to work to keep oil prices around $60 a barrel to contain US shale oil production. "If the price jumps [to] around $70 ... it will motivate more production in shale oil in the United States," he noted.

Iran will press for carefully bringing back some of its own production, the WSJ quoted Zanganeh as saying. He added the OPEC member currently pumps about 3.8 million barrels per day (mbd) and could produce about 100,000 bpd more.

Iran is allowed to pump up to 3.8 mbd under a global pact between OPEC, Russia and other oil producers to limit supply. OPEC meets next in June.

Russia and nine other producers have joined OPEC's production limits, cumulatively withholding about two percent of the world's crude output.

The International Energy Agency said this week that shale production had already risen so much that demand for OPEC crude would remain below the OPEC's current production through 2020. That could pressure the group to limit output for longer than most members anticipated.

Iran needs an oil price of only $57.20 a barrel to balance its national budget, according to the International Monetary Fund. Saudi Arabia needs about $70 a barrel to cover record national spending this year.

Russia is likely to be an important factor in any OPEC oil-price debate. Though it is not a member of the group, Russia's production cuts have given it special influence with the group.

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak told state TV last month that prices around $64 a barrel were 'satisfactory'.

Source:Irandailynews