Three OPEC members to veto proposed supply boost: report

Venezuela and Iraq will join Iran in blocking a proposal to increase oil production which is backed by Saudi Arabia and Russia when OPEC and its allies meet in Vienna on June 22, Bloomberg reported.

“Three OPEC founders are going to stop it,” Iran’s representative to the bloc Hossein Kazempour Ardebili said on Sunday.

“If the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Russia want to increase production, this requires unanimity. If the two want to act alone, that’s a breach of the cooperation agreement,” he added.

Last week, Russian energy minister Alexander Novak said OPEC and its allies could consider a production increase of as much as 1.5 million barrels a day to offset the supply losses from Venezuela and Iran.

Saudi Arabia has been discussing different scenarios that would raise production by between 500,000 and 1 million barrels a day, Bloomberg reported.