Iran says majority of OPEC members support extending oil output cuts

[November 20, 2017]  LONDON (Reuters) - Iran's oil minister said on Monday that a majority of OPEC members support extending output cuts but a final decision will be taken at their next meeting on Nov. 30.

 Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh arrives for a meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Vienna, Austria, November 30, 2016. REUTERS/Heinz-Peter Bader

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries together with a group of non-OPEC producers led by Russia has reduced output since January 1 under an agreement set to run until next March.

Producers are curbing their output in hopes of supporting prices and reducing inventories.

OPEC will meet at the end of the month to discuss the policy.

"The majority of members support the extension of the plan, but the final decision should be taken at the next OPEC meeting," Iran's Bijan Zanganeh was quoted as saying by the ISNA news agency.

OPEC allowed Iran to increase output slightly to help it recover market share lost while under Western sanctions. OPEC members Libya and Nigeria have also been exempt from supply curbs as their oil industries recover from years of unrest.

"If the production cut is extended, the exemption for Iran will also be extended," Zanganeh was quoted as saying by SHANA, the Iranian oil ministry's news agency.

(Writing by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin; editing by Louise Heavens and Jason Neely)

[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.