Iran Proposes New Date for OPEC Meeting

Iran’s oil minister has disagreed with a plan to postpone an upcoming meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), saying Iran would prefer July 10-12 if a new date is to be set for the gathering.

In comments on Monday, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh set a condition for a possible change in the time of the OPEC meeting.

Zanganeh said he disagrees with a proposal to reschedule the OPEC’s next meeting to early July, but Tehran would be ready for a meeting on July 10-12 if there is a tendency to change the date.

OPEC was scheduled to meet on June 25, but Russia, a producer outside OPEC, suggested moving the meeting to July 3-4.

In letters to OPEC, Algeria and Kazakhstan have disagreed with moving the dates. Sources say Venezuela and Libya additionally opposed a schedule change.

“It is becoming really embarrassing,” Reuters quoted an OPEC source as saying.

OPEC and its allies, a grouping known as OPEC+, agreed in December 2018 to reduce supply by 1.2 million barrels per day from January 1. OPEC’s share of the cut is 800,000 bpd, to be delivered by 11 members -all except Iran, Libya and Venezuela.

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