Oman has lent weight to Iran in a row over a Saudi proposal to freeze oil output at currentlevels, saying the Islamic Republic must be exempted from the plan.
Saudi Arabia, which pumped 10.2 million barrels daily in January, wants major producers to cap their output at existing levels at a time when Iran is ramping up production to claw backmarket share it lost under sanctions.
Oman's Oil Minister Mohammad bin Hamad bin Saif al-Rumhi said sanctions have harmed Irans exports and the country had a right to increase output.
On Tuesday, Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said he hoped producers would meet in March to negotiate an output freeze as he ruled out production cuts.
Last week, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Qatar and Venezuela proposed thefreeze that would cap production at January levels.
Given the damage Irans oil exports have suffered as a result ofWestern sanctions, the country can be exempted from a possible OPEC agreement on freezing production, the Mehr news agency on Wednesdayquoted Rumhi as saying.
One solution is that Iran is allowed to rebuild its production; any decision in this regard is up to OPEC members to make, he added, according to the news agency.
Rumhi also said his country was ready to cut production by 10% if an agreement was reached.Oman is not anOPEC member but it is ready to go along with OPEC, he added.
On Sunday, Nigerian Energy Minister of Petroleum Emmanuel Kachikwu also said Iran must be given a way out to regain some of its lost market share due to sanctions.
Countries like Iran and Iraq have been out of the market for a while and if they are to come back you shouldnt freeze them out where they are, you should freeze them at a higher level, Kachikwu said in Doha, Qatar.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="555"]
Nigerian Energy Minister of Petroleum Emmanuel Kachikwu attends a news conference after an OPEC meeting in Vienna, Dec. 4, 2015. AFP[/caption]Saudi Arabia, however, has said any agreement was contingent on all other producers agreeing to a freeze.On Tuesday, Naimi reiterated the position.
"Freeze is the beginning of a process, and that means if we can get all the major producers to agree not to add additional balance, then this high inventory we have now will probably decline in due time, he said in Houston, Texas.
Analysts have expressed skepticism that Saudi Arabia is even capable of producing more than it is today. Moreover, an output freeze will not reduce the existing glut and will have no impact on prices.
Iran is seeking to increase output by 1 million barrels a day this year after sanctions on its oil industry were lifted last month.The countrys production has slumped since sanctions were imposed on its exports.
Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh on Tuesday dismissed the output freeze a joke which puts unrealistic demands on Iran.
Some countries that are producing above 10 million barrels per day have called on Iran to freeze its production at one million bpd, he said.
By Press TV
