Iran Oil Minister: Tehran exempt from OPEC cuts

Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zangeneh said yesterday that Tehran will be exempt from the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)’s agreement to extend global crude production cuts for another nine months.

Zangeneh told reporters following OPEC’s 176th meeting in Vienna that the Iranian demands were met adding that all amendments made with regard to the cooperation charter between OPEC countries and non-member countries have no impact on the organisation’s decisions and operational mechanisms, pointing out that the Iranian government will not oppose the Charter, which is voluntary and non-binding.

Earlier, the Iranian minister warned that his country would not accept any decision taken by the organisation and imposed on Iran.

OPEC had agreed to extend oil production cuts for nine months in a bid to shore up oil prices amid expectations of a slowdown in the global economy.

In May, the United States ended exemptions for some countries to continue importing Iranian oil in an attempt to reduce Iran’s oil sales to zero as part of a package of economic sanctions that Washington has reimposed on Tehran after unilaterally withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear agreement signed between the world powers and the Islamic Republic.

READ: OPEC set for oil cut extension if Iran endorses pact