Iranian Petrol Minister Demands Country's Exemption From Any OPEC Deal

VIENNA/MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Iran is not willing to be a part of the Joint OPEC-Non-OPEC Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC), which is monitoring the implementation of the oil output cut deal and issues recommendations for changing its conditions, Iranian Petroleum Minister Bijan Zangeneh said.

The JMMC acted beyond its mandate during the past 12 months, Zangeneh told reporters, noting that the existence of the committee was unnecessary. Zangeneh emphasized that the committee should act in line with its mandate.

Moreover, Iran should be exempt from any deal on future oil production levels between OPEC member states and the countries, which are not part of the cartel, until the US sanctions against Tehran are lifted, Iranian Minister said.

On Wednesday, Zangeneh said that Tehran was not going to discuss oil production quotas with OPEC while it was being subjected to Washington's sanctions.

OPEC and several non-OPEC oil producers, including Russia, reached a deal in Vienna in 2016 agreeing to cut oil output by a total of 1.8 million barrels per day in an effort to stabilize global oil prices. Non-OPEC states pledged to jointly reduce oil output by 558,000 barrels per day. The agreement, which came into effect in 2017, has been extended twice since then and will remain in force until the end of 2018.

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On November 5, a second package of US sanctions against Tehran came into effect following Washington's withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal in May.