Venezuela
has been calling for an emergency meeting to discuss steps to prop up
prices, which are at their lowest since 2003. But Iran and Gulf members
of the OPEC have been rebuffing Venezuela's push for a special meeting.
"There
should be an intention to make a firm decision in such a meeting;
otherwise, the meeting will have a negative impacts on world oil
markets," Iran's Bijan Zanganeh was quoted as saying by the news agency
SHANA.
"The important thing is that there must be an intention for change, but we have not yet received such a signal," he said.
Iran
ordered an increase in crude output of 500,000 barrels per day (bpd)
last week, to take advantage of the lifting of international sanctions
imposed to halt Iran's nuclear research. The sanctions had cut its oil
exports by about 2 million bpd.
OPEC was already pumping oil at close to record levels, before any extra Iranian crude reached the market.
The
next scheduled OPEC meeting is not until June. The last extraordinary
meeting to discuss a price slump, in 2008, led to OPEC's largest-ever
production cut. Prices doubled within a year after that cut.
By: Reuters (Dubai).
Reporting: Bozorgmehr Sharafedin.
Editing: Larry King.
Review: Emerging Market Formulations & Research Unit, Flagship Records.
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