Iran's oil production fell to 3.45 million barrels per day (bpd) in October, the lowest monthly figure so far this year, the Middle East Economic Survey (MEES) reported Saturday, November 18.
The Nicosia-based newsletter quoted sources as indicating crude exports totaled 2.00 million bpd with 1.45 million bpd delivered to domestic refineries. This compares with 3.62 million bpd in September.
MEES noted that the October production was very close to Iran's OPEC production quota of 3.406 million bpd. Tehran is frequently charged with over-producing on its quota within the cartel. The country's Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zangeneh on Thursday called on non-OPEC countries to "cooperate" with the organization in order to stabilise the oil market prices which he said "cannot be supported."
"If non-OPEC states agree with the organization's call for a cut in production -- 500,000 barrels a day -- OPEC will reduce its raw oil production on January 1, 2002," Zangeneh said.
OPEC ministers on Wednesday agreed to cut their production by 1.5 million bpd from January 1, on condition that major non-OPEC producers like Russia, Norway and Mexico cut by half a million bpd.
Mexico, a key independent producer along with Russia and Norway, announced late Wednesday that it will cut oil exports "up to 100,000 barrels a day" from January 1, if OPEC confirmed its conditional cut. — (AFP, Nicosia)
© Agence France Presse 2001
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
