Iran sees no need for emergency OPEC meeting

Reuters, Sunday 30 Oct 2011

Oil market is balanced and crisis-free with the return of Libyan production says Iran's OPEC spokesman

Current OPEC president Iran does not envisage holding an emergency meeting of the oil producers' group ahead of a scheduled one in December, Iran's OPEC Governor Mohammad Ali Khatibi was quoted as saying by the student news agency ISNA on Sunday.

"I find it improbable to have an OPEC emergency meeting because there is no emergency matter and the market is balanced," he was quoted as saying.

Price hawk Iran along with African countries and Venezuela, blocked a Saudi-led proposal to increase output targets at OPEC's last meeting on 8 June, but Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates boosted output unilaterally afterwards -- a move Tehran criticised.

"Libya is getting back to the oil market and it is predicted that by next year its production will return to normal," Khatibi said.

Libya is currently pumping around 500,000 barrels per day (bpd), but industry sources doubt it can quickly reach pre-war levels, which represented about 2 per cent of the global demand.

On prices, Khatibi said: "The fall in the oil price is detrimental for all oil producers and exporters".

Iran has said in the past it expects output quotas to remain unchanged at the December meeting.

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