Pétrole: l’Iran appelle l’OPEP à diminuer sa production//Tehran urges OPEC to reduce crude output to boost prices

Dans la situation où les adhérents de l’Organisation des pays exportateurs de pétrole (OPEP) continuent de dépasser leur propre quota de production pétrolière, le ministre iranien du pétrole Bijan Namdar Zanganeh estime que le cartel devrait baisser son niveau de production afin que les prix puissent augmenter.

Le quota de l’OPEP de production pétrolière fixé à 30 millions de barils par jour est dépassé par les pays membres de l’organisation depuis déjà 16 mois. Selon le ministre iranien, le cartel devrait diminuer sa production pour laisser les prix augmenter à un niveau de 70-80 dollars le baril.

“Personne n’est satisfait des prix actuels du pétrole. Il faut que l’OPEP prenne une décision sur le règlement du marché de l’offre et de la baisse de la production”, a déclaré M.Zanganeh cité par l’agence Bloomberg.

En même temps, le ministre iranien estime que le cartel ne prendra pas une telle décision lors de sa rencontre le 4 décembre 2015.

L’OPEP dépasse son quota de production pour défendre sa part du marché pétrolier mondial. Selon un rapport du cartel daté d’octobre, en septembre dernier, la production du pétrole a augmenté pour atteindre 31,57 millions de barils par jour.

Quant à l’Iran, il pourrait augmenter l’exportation du pétrole à 500.000 barils par jour, une semaine après la levée des sanctions. Six mois après la levée des sanctions, le pays aurait la possibilité d’augmenter l’exportation à un million de barils par jour, afin de récupérer sa part du marché perdue dans le cadre des sanctions, estime le responsable de la Société pétrolière nationale iranienne (NIOC) Roknoddin Javadi à qui se réfère l’agence.

Cut oil prices so barrels cost between $70 and $80, Iran tells OPEC http://t.co/0YvLpBdxpr pic.twitter.com/NJCNK0XbeN

— Bloomberg Business (@business) 19 Octobre 2015

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A brutal sell-off in oil prices should be met with large cuts to production, Iran’s oil minister has said, in an attempt to get values back up to at least $70 a barrel.

Bijan Namdar Zanganeh called on the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) to drop production, warning that that “no-one is happy” with prices at their current levels.

“Opec should decide to manage the market by reducing the level of production,” he said, until the price of a barrel of Brent crude enters a range of $70 to $80 a barrel.

Crude prices took a further hit on Monday as signs that China’s economy was losing steam added to concerns that energy demand would slow.

The price of Brent slipped back below the $50 a barrel mark, well below half last year’s peak of $115. “No one is thinking about $100 a barrel,” Mr Zanganeh said. Thus far, the 12-strong Opec cartel has been willing not to give up on market share in response to sliding prices. The oil producing bloc has signed up to Saudi Arabia’s strategy, deciding to wait out the impact of booming US shale production. Low prices have taken a toll on US producers. Oil rig numbers have been thinned, dropping to a five-year low of 595 last week. Non-Opec production will shrink by 130,000 barrels a day next year, Opec predicted in a recent report.

But the cash crunch has caused more pain than some Opec members are willing to stomach. Rafael Ramirez, Venezuela’s former oil minister, and now its UN ambassador, has called on the cartel to drop output. Algeria is also understood to have lobbied Opec members for measures to prop up crude prices.

Their comments come ahead of a technical Opec meeting this Wednesday at which those suffering from lower prices are set to go head-to-head with rivals willing to ride out the current pressure. Insiders do not expect those seeking output to prevail at the meeting.

crude oil nasdaq 20 october 2015 — Caption: Nasdaq

Mr Zanganeh said that he expected no change in Opec policy at the group’s main meeting this December, commenting that “the atmosphere is not [right] for making changes”. Calls to slash Opec production came as news broke that Saudi Arabia’s government has now delayed payments to its contractors for six months or more as the state seeks to defend its balance sheet. The oil-reliant country is being pushed into a budget deficit for the first time since 2009 as the falling price of crude has taken its toll on revenues. Crude accounts for about four-fifths of the government’s income.

QUICK LOOK: #OPEC Countries #Oil Production 2015 Vs 2014 @business #saudi #iran #iraq #libya #uae pic.twitter.com/E2ywFGvUO2

— Nayla Razzouk (@nayrazz) 20 Octobre 2015

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The International Monetary Fund expects the country will report a deficit of more than 400bn riyals (£70bn) this year as a result of the oil sell-off. Consequently, delays in contractor payments have worsened this year, while Saudi Arabia has sought to cut prices on contracts, according to Bloomberg.

Sources: Sputnik, RT.COM, Bloomberg, Telegraph

European #oil companies steal a march on US peers in #Iran https://t.co/iUwG30X5Gg via @WSJ @benoitfaucon #Irandeal pic.twitter.com/5Nw7yoes3H

— Javier Blas (@JavierBlas2) 20 Octobre 2015

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