Saudis, Iran Discuss Oil Prices
Sunday, 7 March 1999
R I Y A D H , S A U D I A R A B I A (AP)
SAUDI ARABIAN and Iranian oil ministers said Sunday that in order to raise
prices, the market's surplus must be eliminated, the official Saudi Press
Agency reported.
In their talks in Riyadh, Ali Naimi of Saudi Arabia and Bijan Namdar
Zanganeh of Iran agreed there is "a surplus in supply of oil, and it is
necessary to get rid of this surplus in order for oil prices to improve," the
agency said.
The discussions came about two weeks before the Organization of the
Petroleum Exporting Countries is due to hold a ministerial meeting on oil
prices, which have plummeted to their lowest level in 20 years, hovering
near $11 a barrel for the past several months.
"The two sides also agreed on the need to continue discussions between
themselves, and among OPEC members and non-members, to take a
united and positive decision during the next OPEC meeting on March 23,"
the agency reported.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said Wednesday that his
country and Iran were determined to curb the collapse of oil prices on
international markets.
Saudi Arabia has a daily production quota of 8 million barrels, while Iran,
the second-largest OPEC producer, has a quota of 3.3 million barrels.
Other OPEC members include Algeria, Indonesia, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya,
Nigeria, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela. |
