Iran Says Tehran Got Exemption from OPEC-Non-OPEC Oil Output Cuts
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zangeneh said Friday that Tehran would be exempt from the oil cuts within the production freeze deal of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and non-cartel members.
"Yes," Zangeneh said before the OPEC-non-OPEC meeting, asked if Iran was exempt from the cuts under the deal, Sputnik reported.
The statement comes after the Islamic Republic reportedly asked other OPEC states to use the country’s March or April oil production levels of about 3.8 million barrels per day as a baseline for the potential output cut as part of the extension of the OPEC-non-OPEC deal.
Earlier this week the minister announced that Tehran was not going to discuss oil production quotas with OPEC while the country was being subjected to Washington's sanctions.
The move comes amid the second round of US sanctions against Tehran that came into effect on November 5 following Washington's withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal in May.
In late 2016, OPEC and non-OPEC states made a deal to cut oil production in a bid to stabilize oil prices. Since then, the agreement has repeatedly been prolonged with the final extension reaching the end of 2018.