Iran asks OPEC states not to raise oil output

Iran has asked OPEC members not to raise oil production to compensate for a European Union embargo against the Islamic republic, Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi said on Saturday.

Qasemi said the request was forwarded in a letter to Iraq, the current head of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries.

The European Union, which imports about 20 percent of Iran's oil exports, adopted an oil embargo against Tehran on January 23 that would gradually cut purchases of crude from the country during the next five months.

The measure was the latest effort by Western countries to curtail Iran's nuclear programme.

"We have asked the current head of OPEC to tell members to respect the interests of other members and the rules of cooperation" within the oil cartel, Qasemi told a news conference.

Qasemi said Tehran had also made the request to Saudi Arabia, OPEC's biggest producer which has said it is ready to make up for any shortfall in Iran's oil exports under the new Western sanctions.

He did not give any other details, nor did he say when Iran had issued the request to Saudi Arabia.

Mehr news agency said the letter was sent to Iraqi Oil Minister Abdelkarim al-Luaybi.

It said that the letter criticised those willing to boost their production levels instead of observing "a policy of cooperation consistent with the interests of all members."

Iran has repeatedly warned Gulf Arab states in recent weeks against any "unfriendly" attempts to increase oil production to compensate for tensions on the global market.

If Arab neighbours compensate for the ban, "they will be held responsible for what happens," Iran's representative to OPEC, Mohammad Ali Khatibi, said in mid-January.

"One cannot predict the consequences," Khatibi said.
Source:Yahoo