The meeting between the oil makers in Moscow scheduled for March 20, 2016 to discuss freezing of oil production is hardly possible, reported Reuters quoting reliable sources. They claim that Iran has not agreed yet to join the agreement.
“Iran is not planning to attend the meeting. Then why did the Ministers need to meet? Iran says it is not going do anything,” said a source from a big oil exporter from OPEC. Another source familiar with the discussions of the issue specified that Iran is ready to freeze oil production at 4 million barrels a day, which the level it had before the sanctions. A source familiar with Iran’s position confirmed this information.
Iran’s involvement in freezing of production will be discussed this month at the meeting between Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak and his Iranian counterpart Bijan Zanganeh, writes Reuters. Some sources of the agency said that the proposal, to which Iran will agree, could be worked out by that time.
Representative of some oil exporting countries told Reuters that they are afraid of a new reduction of oil prices, if they gather too early and fail to reach an agreement. Last week representative of one of the OPEC member-states said that oil producing countries of the Persian Gulf would prefer to have a meeting in the first half of April in Doha or any other city in this region. Another source said that no significant progress is expected at the annual OPEC meeting scheduled for June 2016.