Saudi Arabia May Reduce Oil Production if Iran Freezes Output - Source

Saudi Arabia is ready to reduce production of crude oil to January levels if Iran freezes its own oil output at 3.6 million bbl/day, a high-ranking source in Algerian delegation at the International Energy Forum said Tuesday.

ALGIERS (Sputnik) — Saudi Arabia produced an average of around 10 million bbl/day of crude oil in January, according to official data.

"Saudi Arabia said it was ready to cut production, returning to January levels, if Iran keeps output at 3.6 million bbl/day," the source told RIA Novosti.

"The Algerian delegation is trying to help reconcile their positions, but it is difficult to do as Tehran wants to bring production back to 4 million bbl/day," the official added.

An informal meeting of 12 OPEC member states and possibly non-OPEC oil producers including Russia is expected to take place on September 28 on the sidelines of the IEF, where plans to reverse the drop in global oil prices amid ongoing overproduction would be discussed.

In April, major oil-producing states failed to reach an output-freezing agreement in Doha, Qatar. Saudi Arabia, which had previously said that it would freeze output only if Iran followed suit, cited Tehran’s absence at the talks as reason for not supporting an output freeze.