Saudi hopeful of OPEC’s consensus on output; Iran says oil at $70 acceptable

Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Energy Khalid Al-Falih on Friday said he was hopeful of reaching a consensus on the future of OPEC’s production-cut agreement during the group’s 174th ordinary meeting in Vienna today.

However, the minister said that no one should expect an “immediate flood” of oil into the market, The Guardian reported.

Oil supply release will be “gradual,” Al-Falih said, before the start of the meeting.

Saudi Arabia is said to be seeking a total output increase of 1 million barrels per day (bpd), distributed between OPEC and the non-member producers who are part of the deal.

Meanwhile, oil ministers from Saudi Arabia, Iran, UAE, Iraq, and Venezuela held an informal meeting ahead of the conference.

Speaking to reporters later, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said the private discussion had been successful. He added Tehran would be content with crude prices at around $70 a barrel, CNBC reported.

When asked whether OPEC could reach a deal on Friday, Zanganeh replied: "We are cooking something.”

OPEC and its non-member allies have since January 2017 been participating in a pact to cut output by 1.8 million bpd, with the aim to help rebalance the market boost oil prices.