The twofold surge in Iran's oil export has had no negative impact on market prices, Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said.
Zanganeh noted that Iran's oil export has witnessed a twofold rise since December 2015: The rise did not overshadow international prices and the upsurge has been absorbed by the market, Mehr News Agency reported.
Stressing that OPEC aims to maximize the profit margin of all members, Zanganeh said it should do its best to manage the market instabilities and Iran will definitely support OPEC's managerial role in stabilizing market prices in chaotic situations.
"As long as OPEC plays a leadership role in minimizing fluctuations, Iran will back it up," he said, noting that plans call for reviving OPEC's role in promoting stability during the 169th OPEC summit to be held on June 2 in Vienna. Compared to the previous meeting, Iran has doubled its oil export.
Expressing satisfaction with oil prices reaching a reasonable range, he said, "Despite Saudis' procrastinations in the so-called oil freeze deal meeting in Doha on Feb. 16, the situation is being normalized."
Asked about the new nominees to replace OPEC's current Secretary-General Abdallah Salem al-Badri, Zanganeh said candidates from Iran, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Nigeria, Ecuador and Venezuela are vying to get the position, though some states will have no chance as the consensus of all members is needed to elect the secretary-general.
"The secretary-general is usually elected from among states that play a neutral role in the organization. Iran will vote for the most qualified candidate," he said.
On the organization's agenda during the 169th summit, Iran's OPEC envoy, Mehdi Asali, said, "Studying the international oil market, deciding about OPEC's output level and seeking a consensus about Gabon rejoining the organization will be among the top priorities."
Asali believes OPEC can still be an influential factor in the oil market as it accounts for 40% of the world's total production.
Nonetheless, economic and political issues have proved to affect it from time to time.
Ruling out speculations about fundamental changes in Saudi oil policies after their long-serving oil minister Ali al-Naimi was ousted, Asali said, "The Arab state's macro oil policies is definitely not adopted by just the new Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih, although he is among seasoned oil officials."
