TheCable

Oil producers can stabilise price by agreeing to a supply freeze without Iran, Ibe Kachikwu, minister of state for petroleum resources, has said.

Speaking with Reuters on Wednesday, Kachikwu said he expects OPEC to agree to a supply freeze in Doha next month.

Qatar has invited OPEC members and major non-OPEC producers to meet on April 17 to agree a freeze following an initial deal in February between Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Venezuela and non-OPEC member Russia to hold supply at January levels.

“I expect that we will reach a conclusion on stabilization, stabilize current production as of January,” Kachikwu told Reuters.

Iranian officials have said they will not freeze output as they want to raise exports following the lifting of Western sanctions.

But Kachikwu said Iran’s impact was limited anyway as the country would take time to ramp up production.

“We are likely to see Iran not signing on,” he said.

“But we have all decided that if they don’t we will proceed because we do not believe that currently their entry into the market will create too much of a threat for the next year.

“So basically price stability is our expectation.”

Kachikwu said Nigeria’s current oil output was 2.2 million barrels a day and he planned to boost it to 2.5 million barrels but this would not add to the global crude supply glut.

“Whatever the extra (it) won’t be in the market but go for our refining,” he said.