TEHRAN – Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said on Saturday that it is possible for OPEC members to reach an agreement to stabilize the oil market.

“If OPEC reaches an agreement I am quite optimistic that oil prices will rise and this is what global economy demands,” Zanganeh was quoted by Shana as saying after meeting Algerian Energy Minister Noureddine Bouterfa in Tehran.

“Algerian energy minister’s proposal on each country’s production was presented in this meeting and it was carefully reviewed and analyzed,” Zanganeh added.

“We are going to announce our decisions regarding this proposal at the upcoming OPEC meeting,” he noted.

Asked about the exemption given to Iran, Nigeria and Iraq in the OPEC talks, the Iranian minister said “One of the main areas we discussed in this meeting was our position in the next OPEC meeting… I am optimistic about an agreement.”

‘In case of agreement, oil prices could exceed $55’

Bouterfa for his part said if the OPEC and non-OPEC members reach an agreement on Wednesday oil prices will rise to $50-$55 by the yearend and even $60 in the upcoming year.

He noted that in the meeting the proposal for cutting output by 1.1 million barrels a day has been presented. “We have proposed a 600,000-barrel reduction to non-OPEC members,” he added.

The 171st meeting of OPEC is due to be held on Wednesday November 30 in Vienna. In September, OPEC agreed to reduce production to between 32.5 million and 33.0 million barrels per day - an effort to prop up prices - from the organization's latest production estimates of 33.64 million bpd.

EF/MA/MG