Tehran, (IINA) - Iran’s oil minister stated on Sunday that the country has no plans to freeze its oil production levels at January rates, putting a dent in last month’s Saudi-Russian plan to slow down the drops in world oil prices, DPA reported.
"Our position on freezing is clear and nothing has changed", Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh told the Fars news agency. He said he planned to make the stance clear during a Monday visit by Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak.
Iran's goal is to get production up to 4 million barrels a day, the level it has seen before international sanctions were imposed due to concerns about its nuclear program.
After a deal reached last year, which makes it harder for Iran to make nuclear weapons, many of those sanctions are being lifted.
"Cooperation would be possible then [once we reach 4 million barrels a day], but they should let the topic be until then", he said.
According to OPEC data, Iran's current production is between 2.8 million and 3.5 million barrels a day.
The Saudi-Russian deal, to which Venezuela and Qatar also signed on, is designed to stabilize oil prices that have fallen by 70 percent since their peak in mid-2014.
Although the low oil price has been a blessing for many importing nations, it is causing widespread problems for exporting countries that mostly depend on oil economically.
AG/IINA
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