Iran says it supports any move to stabilise oil market

Iran’s president Hassan Rouhani said Tehran supports any move to stabilise the global oil market and lift prices ahead of a meeting of oil producers in Algeria this month.

Iran’s president Hassan Rouhani said Tehran supports any move to stabilise the global oil market and lift prices, according to the Iranian oil ministry news agency Shana.

“Instability and falling oil prices are harmful to all countries, especially oil producers,” Mr Rouhani was quoted as saying.

“Tehran welcomes any move aimed at market stability and improvement of oil prices based on justice, fairness and fair quota of all the oil producers,” the president said, referring to a meeting between Opec and non-Opec producers in Algeria next week.

Mr Rouhani was speaking to the Ecuadorean president Rafael Correa on the sidelines of the Non-Aligned Movement Summit in Venezuela on Saturday.

Iran, Opec’s third-largest producer, has been boosting its oil output after the lifting of Western sanctions in January. Tehran refused to join a previous attempt this year by Opec and non-members such as Russia to stabilise production, and talks collapsed in April.

Opec members will meet on the sidelines of the International Energy Forum, which groups producers and consumers, in Algeria from September 26 through 28. The non-Opec producer Russia is also attending the forum.

Opec will probably revive talks on freezing oil production levels when it meets non-Opec nations in Algeria.

Saudi Arabia and Russia agreed this month to cooperate in oil markets, saying they could limit future output.

However, on Saturday, the Opec secretary-general Mohammed Barkindo appeared to play down suggestions of a major agreement by saying the Algiers meeting would be an informal meeting for consultations and not for decision making, Algerian state news agency APS reported.

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