17 February 2016, 13:59 GMT
MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On Tuesday, the energy ministers of Russia, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Qatar met in Doha and agreed to keep their average monthly oil output throughout 2016 at January levels if other countries followed suit. On Wednesday, the energy ministers of Venezuela and Qatar, who is also OPEC President, are expected to persuade Iran and Iraq to join the agreement.
"Iran's position as for this issue is very clear. Oil prices were high, when the sanctions were imposed on Iran. These [OPEC] states increased oil output… and took advantage of the circumstances… There is no point in expecting yet another reduction of production level by Iran," Mahdi Asali was quoted as saying by the Iranian Shargh newspaper.
He added that Tehran would increase its output by 1.5 million barrels per day, the volume it produced before the restrictions were imposed.
Global oil prices plunged from $115 to less than $30 per barrel between June 2014 and January 2016, hitting their lowest levels since 2003, mostly because of prolonged global oversupply and weak demand.
