Iran's Oil Minister to Attend Algeria Summit for 'Oil Freeze'

The Oil Minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran announced on Thursday that he will participate in a two-day meeting of the International Energy Forum in Algeria. The significance of this summit lies in the fact that for the second time in a year, OPEC and non-OPEC countries will meet on the sidelines of this summit, scheduled for September 26, to discuss 'collective action' to support global oil prices. Algeria has recently initiated extensive negotiations to encourage major oil-producing countries, particularly Russia and OPEC members, to join in halting the growth of oil production (oil freeze). Bijan Zangeneh, Iran's Oil Minister, stated on Thursday to the Shana news agency, affiliated with the Ministry of Oil, that 'I will participate in this summit.' In this context, international news agencies, including Reuters and Bloomberg, widely covered Zangeneh's attendance at the Algeria summit. The previous meeting of OPEC and non-OPEC producers for an oil freeze, initiated by Venezuela, a member of OPEC, was held in April in Qatar and ended in failure. The Iranian Oil Minister did not attend the Doha summit, as Iran had just emerged from sanctions and insisted on raising its production to pre-sanction levels, a stance that faced opposition from Saudi Arabia, ultimately leading to the meeting's inconclusiveness. Reuters reports that Iran has sent positive signals that increase the likelihood of reviving negotiations regarding the 'oil freeze.' Mr. Zangeneh also mentioned in an interview with Shana that Mohammad Barkindo, the OPEC Secretary-General, will visit Tehran soon. In this context, Bloomberg reported that on August 8, Qatar's Oil Minister Mohammed bin Saleh Al-Sada announced that Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, is working to rebalance the oil supply and demand market, which will be discussed at the informal meeting of OPEC and non-OPEC members in Algeria. Since the sanctions, Iran has increased its daily oil production by 850,000 barrels to about 3.65 million barrels per day. Just yesterday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced in a meeting with government officials and Ayatollah Khamenei that Iran's oil production has now reached '3.85 million barrels.' International statistics have not yet confirmed this figure, but if Iran has indeed raised its production to this level, it would have returned to pre-sanction levels from 2011. During the sanctions, Iran's production fell to 2.8 million barrels per day. However, Mr. Zangeneh did not indicate in his conversation with Shana whether Iran is currently willing to participate in the 'collective action' program and halt the growth of oil production. Nevertheless, Bloomberg reports that since the announcement of the OPEC meeting in Algeria, oil prices have increased by about ten percent.