Falling Oil Prices: Iran Hopes OPEC Will Cut Oil Production Rate

Iran’s oil minister, Bijan Zanganeh, is optimistic that an end to the global oil price plunge is near.

Zanganeh has expressed hope that the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, will eventually cut oil production in order to shore up prices.

He also predicted that OPEC and non-OPEC countries would eventually “cooperate to restore balance to the oil market.”

According to PennEnergy, an Energy News & Market Research platform, the 12-country group, which includes Iran, has so far refused to cut oil production, and most recently, at a meeting in November, the OPEC members voted against Iranian objections to maintain current production output.

It stated in part: “Oil prices have lost well over half their value since late June, with benchmark U.S. crude trading below $45 a barrel. Iran is particularly vulnerable to the price drop, as it relies on oil sales for up to 60 percent of its foreign revenue,”.

According to OPEC Secretariat calculations, the price of OPEC basket of twelve crudes stood at $43.25 dollars per barrel, compared with $43.04 the previous day.