Venezuela seeks joint action by all oil-producing states

CARACAS: Venezuela is pressing for meeting in January between OPEC and non-OPEC members, as the South American country pushes for action to stem the slide in oil prices, its oil minister said on local television.
“With President (Nicolas Maduro) we’ve been discussing the need to urge leaders of OPEC and non-OPEC countries to hold an urgent meeting in January,” Venezuelan Oil Minister Eulogio del Pino said in an interview with television station Telesur.
Venezuela is a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) which is now comprised of 13 countries.
“Joint action by all oil-producing countries is necessary...in defense of a right price for a non-renewable natural resource,” stressed del Pino, adding that current oversupply could drag down oil prices by some $10.
Further details were not immediately available.
Oil prices rose on Thursday but fell as much as 35 percent for in 2015 after a race to pump by Middle East crude producers and US shale oil drillers created an unprecedented global glut that may take through 2016 to clear.
Oil prices began falling in mid-2014 as surging output from OPEC, Russia and US shale producers outpaced demand.
The downturn accelerated at the end of 2014 following an OPEC decision to keep production high to defend global market share rather than cut output to support prices.
OPEC failed to agree on any production targets at its Dec. 4 meeting in Vienna, cementing its decision to protect market share, as the organization braces for the return of Iranian exports to the market after the lifting of Western sanctions.
Senior officials in Iran were meanwhile quoted as saying that a rise in Iran’s crude oil exports once sanctions against it are lifted depends on future global oil demand and should not further weaken oil prices.
Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said Iran did not plan to exacerbate an already bearish oil market.
“We are not seeking to distort the market but will regain our market share,” said Zanganeh, quoted by oil ministry news agency Shana.
Oil prices are likely to come under further pressure this year, when international sanctions on Iran are due to be removed under a nuclear deal reached in July. Brent crude settled at $37.28 a barrel on Thursday.
Iran has repeatedly said it plans to raise oil output by 500,000 barrels per day post sanctions, and another 500,000 bpd shortly after that, to reclaim its position as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ second-largest producer.
“The decision on the amount of exports highly depends on the future condition of the market. We will raise our market quota steadily,” said Mohsen Qamsari, director general for international affairs of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC).
“We will adjust our output to the global market’s demand,” he said on Saturday.
“We will exercise great caution to prevent a further decline in international prices and will adopt certain methods and strategies to this end,” he added.
Oil prices fell as much as 35 percent for 2015 after a race to pump by Middle East crude producers and US shale oil drillers created an unprecedented global glut that may take through 2016 to clear.
The sanctions have halved Iran’s oil exports to around 1.1 million bpd from a pre-2012 level of 2.5 million bpd, and the loss of oil income has hampered investments.
Qamsari said Iran would be looking to export its crude to Asia and Europe giving examples of China and India as potential buyers post sanctions.
Another possibility would be buying stakes in refineries abroad, he said.
“One of the methods to ensure the country’s oil sale is buying refineries in other countries but this has to be approved by the administration and the parliament,” said Qamsari.
“This is a method that countries like Kuwait, UAE, the US, China and leading oil giants like Royal Dutch Shell and BP have adopted and we should not stay behind them in this field.”