Ahvaz (Iran): Iran's oil minister on Saturday called for an emergency meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) to discuss production cuts, saying this was the only way to prevent crude prices from falling further, the official IRNA News agency reported.
"The only way to stop the downturn (falling of oil prices) is to trim OPEC output," Gholamhossein Nozari told reporters at the Ahvaz oil faculty in the oil-rich southern province of Khuzestan.
"The downturn of the oil prices is resulted by the ongoing economic crisis as well as reduction of demand," said the minister, whose country is the second biggest producer in OPEC after Saudi Arabia.
Nozari said that OPEC is expected to strike a balance between supply and demand and help stabilize and increase oil prices in the world market.
The meeting is likely be held next Friday, Nozari said without disclosing its venue meeting. However, media reports said Vienna could be the possible venue. Oil prices have tumbled to half of their July peak of $147 a barrel.
Iran wants the price for its crude to be fixed between $70 and $75 a barrel.
On Friday, the benchmark US crude was trading at around $72.
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