Algeria proposes 1.1 million bpd OPEC cut

TEHRAN — Algeria has proposed that members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cut 1.1 million barrels of daily oil production to boost prices, 

Iran’s Shana news agency reported on Sunday.

OPEC members are due to meet on Wednesday in Vienna to discuss capping production.

At an informal meeting in Algiers in September, the 14 members agreed to work towards a cut of between 500,000 and one million barrels.

“The Algerian government has proposed a 1.1 million barrel per day cut in OPEC’s total output,” Energy Minister Noureddine Boutarfa said after meeting with his Iranian counterpart in Tehran. 

“We are hopeful that the next OPEC meeting will save the oil market of the current crisis,” he said, according to Shana, the official news service of Iran’s oil ministry.

Boutarfa also called for non-OPEC members such as Russia to cut their output by 600,000 barrels per day (bpd) — also slightly higher than earlier proposals — saying that falling oil prices were hurting the global economy and “must be stopped”.

He said the cuts could push prices up to $60 per barrel by the end of the year. 

A global supply glut has sunk oil prices below $50 — more than half their level just two years ago — threatening the economies of major producers such as Saudi Arabia. 

There have been growing doubts among analysts on whether a deal could be finalised. 

Iran has refused to cut production until it regains its pre-sanctions levels of output, although OPEC members agreed it could be exempted from any deal, along with Libya and Nigeria.

Iran’s Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said he was optimistic an agreement would be reached on Wednesday. 

“The course of events and talks indicates that OPEC can reach a sustainable deal regarding its output and market management,” he said, according to Shana.