LUANDA, Angola, Dec. 22 (UPI) -- Iraq complained it was not getting enough access to oil markets as the world's major oil cartel sets about deciding on production quotas in Angola on Tuesday.
Ministers with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries meet in Angola on Tuesday to discuss production quotas. It is expected production levels from the cartel will remain unchanged as several officials said they considered the current oil price of around $75 per barrel fair.
Production limits for Iraq, which in the post-war climate is making modest gains, is not on the Angola agenda. Abdallah el-Badri, the secretary-general of OPEC, said Iraqi production would figure into later discussions, The Financial Times reports.
"It's not maybe this year or next year but we will discuss it and surely we will accommodate them," he said.
Hussain al-Shahristani, the Iraqi oil minister, said his country would lobby for a larger production quota as its moves toward increases in 2011.
Shahristani complains OPEC should consider Iraq's history, saying the country was "deprived of its fair share of the world market and this should be taking into account" when reviewing quotas.
His comments come as Baghdad signs a series of oil contracts from an auction earlier this month that could boost oil production from 2.5 million barrels per day to more than 10 million bpd in the next 10 years.
