28 Mar 2024
Thursday 3 December 2015 - 17:04
Story Code : 191302

MP rebuffs Nigeria's call on Iran to delay output boost

TEHRAN, Dec. 3 (Shana) - A member of the Iranian parliament said Nigeria's call on Iran to delay its plans to increase its crude oil output after the sanctions removal as illogical and outrageous.

"The request of the Nigerian junior Minister of Petroleum Resources is illogical because those countries that produce above their quota are responsible for the market volatility and Iran must be able to reach its official production ceiling," said Hossein Amiri Khamkani upon his arrival at Vienna airport in Austria to attend the upcoming meeting of the members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

Spokesman of the energy committee of the parliament further said the countries that have usurped Iran's quota and have produced more than the market's needs must reduce their output, not Iran.

Likewise, Petroleum Minister Bijan Zangeneh said Iran will not disregard its quota in OPEC urging members that overtook Iran's production share to reduce output to restore stability in the market.

"If anybody is concerned about the volatile market, they must put pressure on those countries that have overtaken Iran's market share, and should not undermine the sovereignty of countries by disregarding their inalienable rights by their assertions.

Zangeneh's remarks came ahead of his departure for OPEC's December 4 meeting in Vienna,in response to assertions by junior Nigerian oil minister Emmanuel Kachikwu who said on Wednesday that Nigeria will ask OPEC to prevail upon fellow member Iran to delay its plans for a post-sanctions increase in oil exports in order to ease the oil price slump that is negatively affecting the revenues of producing countries.

"There is a lot of sensitivity [to] the $42/barrel oil price currently, that it has the potential to go down if Iran throws the estimated 1.5 million b/d of crude into the market by next year," Kachikwu told reporters in Lagos.

OPEC members are gathering on December 4 to set output policy for the year ahead.

"I will be meeting one-on-one with other OPEC ministers to try and see how we can at least get to delay Iran flooding the market with 1.5 million b/d. I will be talking with Iran's oil minister on that so that we can stabilize the price," Kachikwu said, according the Platts.

Nigeria, like other oil producing companies, has seen its finances badly hit by the decline in oil prices.

Iran has repeatedly said it will raise its output by more than 500,000bpd one day after the sanctions removal, and will increase it by another 500,000 bpd within the next six months after the sanctions removal.

Iran and the P5+1 group of countries reached an agreement in July over Tehran's nuclear program which will removal US-led sanctions on Iran in exchange for Tehran dramatically curbing its nuclear agenda.

By SHANA
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