Roundup: Iran seeks OPEC move to stabilize crude market: official

Iran will support any decision by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in its upcoming meeting to create balance in the crude market, the director of OPEC affairs at Iran's Oil Ministry said Wednesday.

"Iran supports any OPEC move to induce stability to oil market with fair and logical prices," Mehdi Asali was quoted as saying by Petro-Energy Information Network (SHANA).

However, Iran will not accept any decision to make country freeze its oil output, Asali said ahead of an OPEC meeting in Vienna of Austria on Thursday.

Since the lift of western sanctions on Iran's energy sector in January, Iran has been ramping out its oil production and exports to claw back lost market share.

"Iran expects fellow OPEC members to understand Tehran's status which is trying to bring its market share and production level after years of draconian sanctions to the pre-sanctions levels," Asali said.

Western sanctions on Iran's energy sector over the latter's sensitive nuclear program had cut Iran's crude output to around 2.5 million barrels per day (bpd) and reduced exports to barely above one million bpd during 2012-2015.

On May 16, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said that the country's crude production and exports had almost doubled compared to the levels seen during the sanctions period.

Iran's doubling of oil exports, following the implementation of a nuclear deal in January, has had no negative impact on the crude market, Zanganeh said on Wednesday according to Tehran Times daily.

Zanganeh made the remarks before leaving Tehran for Vienna to attend the 169th ordinary meeting of the OPEC.

The meeting seeks to determine OPEC policy for the next six months, to collectively study the situation of oil market and pick a new secretary general for the organization.

On the sidelines of the OPEC meeting, Zanganeh is scheduled to meet and hold talks with major international oil and gas firms, according to SHANA.

Iran is planning to attract 185 billion U.S. dollars of foreign investment to boost its oil, gas and petrochemicals industries by 2020, an Iranian energy official told Tasnim news agency on Wednesday.

Development of Iran Petroleum Contract (IPC) is one of the strategies Tehran has adopted to attract investment and upgrade the country's oil industry, Iranian Deputy Oil Minister for International Affairs Amir Hossein Zamaninia was quoted as saying.

To this end, the country is drawing up plans to draw 185 billion dollars of investment in all sectors of the oil industry within a five-year period, Zamaninia said, adding that 85 billion dollars of the investment will go to the upstream sector of the industry.

Iran has canceled an oil conference that was scheduled for Feb. 22 to 24 in London to unveil new terms for the IPC.

Iran's IPC, if implemented, would help the country attract financing from Asian and European investors. The new contracts are replacing traditional Iranian "buy-back" contracts which are no longer attractive to foreign companies.

Under the contracts, National Iranian Oil Company will set up joint ventures for crude oil production with international companies which will be paid with a share of the output.

Iran and the world powers reached a nuclear deal last July, which was implemented in January and would enable the country to re-engage with energy firms of the world to develop its oil and gas fields. Endit