Iran's oil minister said on Sunday the oil market is estimated to be oversupplied by about 2 million barrels per day (bpd) and Opec will have to decide next month in Algeria about how to stabilise prices.
Gholamhossein Nozari made the comments a day after Opec ministers met in Cairo, where they deferred a decision on a new supply cut amid signs Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies wanted more adherence to curbs put in place over the past two months.
Iran's Opec governor, Mohammad Ali Khatibi, said Iran was fully committed to Opec's last cut, after some Opec delegates in Cairo said Tehran was a source of concern over compliance, alongside another oil price hawk, Venezuela. Iran's share of the 1.5 million bpd cut agreed in October and effective from November 1 was 199,000 bpd.
"We observe the entire 199,000 bpd (quota cut). We are hopeful that others will do the same," Khatibi told reporters on the sidelines of an energy conference, adding compliance by other members was "very good, above 70 to 80 percent".
"If there are other cuts, we will seriously observe that." Iran, Opec's second-biggest producer, pushed for a cut before the Cairo talks, but Khatibi said ministers wanted to see the November output figures before taking a decision.
Ministers from the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries next meet in Algeria on December 17. "Market assessments indicate that the market has around 2 million bpd of oversupply," Nozari told reporters in Tehran.
"In Algeria, we will have to make a decision to establish balance between supply and demand," he said. Saudi Arabia, Opec's biggest producer, for the first time in years has identified a "fair" price for oil - $75 a barrel.
"We are hopeful prices will not go any lower than around $50 but we should not be very surprised if prices go even further down because of the depth of the economic crisis," Khatibi said.
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