Iran to maintain opposition to OPEC quota increase

Iran will continue to oppose pressure from consumer nations for an increase in oil cartel OPEC's output quota, its caretaker oil minister said on Sunday. "In accordance with the supply and demand situation, Iran will oppose raising OPEC's oil production quota ceiling at the next meeting (on December 14)," Mohammad Aliabadi told the Mehr news agency. At their last meeting on June 9, OPEC ministers decided to keep official output levels at 24.84 million barrels per day (mbpd), where they have stood since January 2009. The International Energy Agency (IEA), which represents industrialised nations, then announced on Thursday that it would release 60 million barrels of oil from its strategic reserves over the next month. The move sparked a massive sell-off, with oil prices dropping more than $8 in London and nearly $6 in New York. Aliabadi said "stabilising OPEC's oil production quota could possibly lead to stable oil prices." He charged that Iran's OPEC rival Saudi Arabia was seeking to raise output levels "at America's request." "OPEC is not seeking to raise oil prices," the minister insisted. "By lowering oil prices... America is seeking to affect the next presidential election," he charged. OPEC's number two exporter after Saudi Arabia, Iran is the current holder of the cartel's rotating presidency. Aliabadi's remarks came a day after Iran's OPEC representative Mohammad Ali Khatibi accused the US and its European allies of forcing an "artificial" oil price slump on the market.