TEHRAN – Iran’s Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh confirmed that he will attend the meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) which is to be held in Algeria in September, Shana reported on Friday.

According to Shana, addressing a press conference in Pars Special Economic Energy Zone (PSEEZ) on Friday, Zanganeh stressed that Iran will support any joint action to stabilize the oil market.

“Iran has not caused any disturbance to the oil market, instability in the market appeared when Iran's oil production barely reached 2.7 million barrels and the exports were less than a million barrels a day,” he said.

Mentioning his presence in the gathering of OPEC members in Algeria next month the official noted that Iran is only seeking to regain the market share it lost due to the sanctions.

According to the oil ministry Iran pumped about 4 million barrels per day (bpd) before the sanctions. The country’s output was set at 3.6 million bpd in July, OPEC figures show.

Members of OPEC will meet on the sidelines of the International Energy Forum (IEF) during which producers and consumers of oil gather in Algeria on September 26-28.

A similar initiative died back in April during talks in Doha, Qatar, when Saudi Arabia backed out over Iran’s refusal to join in a so-called production freeze until it had reached pre-sanctions levels of oil production. Under the freeze, countries would have agreed to limit their production to certain levels in a bid to raise oil prices by constricting the amount of crude on the market.

Iran retains right to regain market share

Zanganeh also said Iran believes that those who made bigger contributions to the instability and chaos in the oil market should take more responsibility and have a greater role propping up the market.

“Iran will continue cooperating with OPEC members but we expect that the right to revive our market share not to be ignored,” he added.

“Regaining our market share is a nationwide demand,” he stressed.

‘Barkindo to visit Iran in near future’

Oil minister also said on Thursday that OPEC Secretary General Mohammed Barkindo will visit Tehran "in the near future".

He also mentioned the new oil contracts and said, “the new contract model which only needs to be approved by the cabinet, includes the general terms for now, first the drafts are crafted and after signing a contract, a classified copy will be send to the Majlis”.

“Development of joint fields and increasing oil recovery from the older fields are our priorities in signing contracts,” he added.

EF/MA