Fresh Call on Non-OPEC Producers to Help Rebalance Market

Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh on Sunday urged non-OPEC producers to join an OPEC-led initiative to cut crude production to rebalance the market and lift prices.

“Members of the Organization of Petroleum Producing Countries agreed on a framework for output cut (last month) and outside producers should be cooperative,” Zanganeh was quoted as saying by Shana on Sunday.

On the meeting of Russian and Saudi energy ministers in Riyadh slated for Sunday, Zanganeh said, “We hope the two sides reach an understanding and non-OPEC members, including Russia, join OPEC's initiative.”

Russia’s Minister of Energy Alexander Novak was invited by his Saudi counterpart Khalid Al-Falih to participate in a meeting of the (Persian) Gulf Cooperation Council petroleum ministers on Sunday at the council headquarters in Riyadh.

Asked on whether Russia will attend OPEC’s regular meeting in Vienna on November 30, Novak said only OPEC members will attend.

He told Reuters on Friday that Russia will produce 548 million tons (11 million barrels per day) of oil next year, a post-Soviet record, however Moscow still wants global producers to curb production amid weak prices.

He said he would take "some" proposals to the meeting with al-Falih and he believed an oil output freeze was still necessary. He declined to provide any further details on the proposals.

OPEC agreed on the sidelines of an energy conference in Algeria last month to cut its collective output to around 32.5 million barrels per day from 33.39 million bpd in September. The 14-member group is expected to announce the details of the agreement in their Nov. meeting.

  Maduro in Tehran

Nicolas Maduro, the president of Venezuela that has sought to rally support among OPEC and non-OPEC nations to boost crude prices by cutting production, met Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Saturday night.

“Iran supports any measure that helps to restore market stability, boost prices and (regulate) the market share of producing nations,” Rouhani said.

The president underscored the need to reach technical collaboration between OPEC states and non-members.

“Boosting collaboration with Latin American nations, including Venezuela, has always been important for us and fortunately, the two countries have expanded relations over the past years,” he added.

Stressing that Venezuela is determined to raise cooperation with Iran in a wide range of issues, Madura referred to his negotiations for curbing oil production, and said, “To stabilize oil prices, new mechanisms should be found and talks between oil producers, including those in and out of OPEC, should increase.”

Prior to his visit to Iran, Maduro told Azerbaijan's state news agency Azertag that OPEC and non-OPEC nations are "very close" to an agreement on oil production curbs.