Iran opposed to OPEC output hike

Iran opposed to OPEC output hike
by Safura Rahimi
30 July 2007
Reuters

Iran firmly opposes a possible hike in OPEC's crude oil output aimed at curbing rising oil prices, Iranian state television reported on Sunday.

Iranian Oil Minister Kazem Vaziri Hamaneh has said the recent surge is due to political tensions and a shortage of gasoline in the US, and not linked to OPEC's recent cutbacks.

He added that in the current conditions, boosting oil production will not have an effect on oil prices as ‘political and geopolitical reasons' are driving rise and fall in the market.

The oil price has surged over the past month to near-record highs as supply concerns draw investor interest.

OPEC President Mohammed al-Hamli said last week that the organisation was worried high oil prices might hurt the world economy - remarks that fuelled speculation of a possible OPEC output hike.

OPEC is set to have its next regular meeting on September 11 at its headquarters in Vienna.

However, Oil Minister Vaziri Hamaneh said he did not think OPEC would put the issue of changing its output level on the agenda, according to Iran's Jomhuri-ye Eslami newspaper.