TEHRAN, March 5 (UPI) -- Iran says OPEC doesn't need to further reduce production after reports of decreased demand for oil, and that current quotas will suffice.
"Given the supply and demand figures, Iran believes that there is no need to decrease (OPEC's) oil supply under current conditions," Hossein Kazempour Aredebili, Iran's OPEC governor, told the Tehran Emrooz newspaper.
He said the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries should keep the 26.3 million barrels per day quota when it meets in Vienna later this month, the global energy information firm Platts reports.
Since November the oil cartel has reduced it's quota by 1.7 million bpd. Iraq is the only country not bound by the quota, since its oil industry is in a constant struggle to maintain production that has yet to recover from the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.
"If world (oil) prices do not fall dramatically, which is not likely based on (market) indicators, and if the commitment is maintained in a favorable way, it does not seem that there is a need to cut OPEC's output at the next meeting," Kazempour said.
He also said the predicted second quarter drop in OPEC oil demand does still not pose a need to reduce production.
