Iran Does Not Need OPEC's Approval To Increase Oil Production - Petroleum Minister

TEHRAN (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 15th December, 2020) Iran does not need the approval of OPEC or some other agency to increase the volume of oil production, Iranian Petroleum Minister Bijan Namdar Zangeneh said on Monday.

On Sunday, Jafar Qaderi, a member of the Iranian parliament's budget planning commission, said that Iran was planning to produce 4.5 million barrels of oil and gas condensate every day in 2021, with roughly half of this volume being exported.

"A permission is not needed, it is our right, but there is no problem, we will not ask somebody for permission to increase oil production. Of course, it is necessary to wait," Zangeneh said at a press conference.

The minister added that Iran's plan to increase the volume of daily oil export to 2.3 million barrels is feasible since there was a demand for oil in the global market.

Since August, the OPEC+ countries agreed to continue cutting oil production by 7.7 million barrels per day until the end of the year, and then by 5.8 million by the end of April 2022. The decision was made to stabilize the market after oil prices dropped to $20.18 per barrel amid the decrease in demand caused by the pandemic.

On December 9, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that Iran was planning to sell over 2.3 million barrels of oil each day next year, despite the US recent sanctions that targeted Iran's petroleum ministry and the National Iranian Oil Company over financial support they allegedly provided to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, which the US regards as a terrorist group.