Iran said on Friday that the removal of OPEC quotas system was a historic mistake and its revival will be very difficult.
Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh further said that the removal of OPEC quotas system was a historic mistake and its revival in the upcoming Vienna meeting would ne very difficult, according to IRNA.
Iran has sought to bring back the quotas at the group's earlier meetings, according to Iranian officials, proposing, "a technical price formula that can revive the quota system and also prevent declining prices".
There have been fierce debates at previous meetings of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) when countries have suggested reintroducing the quotas, Zanganeh said.
"OPEC now has no mechanism to control the oil prices ... But Saudi Arabia and some other countries are against reintroduction of the quotas system," Zanganeh added.
Earlier in October, Zanganeh said Iran will officially announce its crude oil output rise by 500,000 barrels per day at the upcoming OPEC meeting on December 4.
"During the [upcoming OPEC] meeting, we will officially notify other OPEC members of our plans to raise production and will ask them to respect the 30-million-barrel ceiling which they have agreed; besides, we will not wait for any other country to boost production," he told Shana.
"Iran is prepared to supply at least 500,000 bpd of crude oil to global markets," he noted.
He said based on the latest assessments of production capacity from Iranian oil fields, the country will be able to boost its output by at least 500,000 bpd as soon as the US-engineered sanctions are lifted.
"All the grounds have been set for selling our oil and, God willing, we will have no problems in selling it," he added.
Asian markets top Iran's priorities for selling its oil after the sanctions removal, he said. Besides, Tehran also considered European and South African markets in this respect.
Output decline
A member of Energy Commission of Iran's Parliament said OPEC must decrease oil production by at least 3.5 million barrels per day to support oil price.
Jalil Jafari Boneh told Trend News Agency on November 26 that OPEC should shrink its output to 28 million barrels per day (mbpd) to push oil price high.
According to the current quota, OPEC members have agreed on 30-mbpd ceiling level together, however, according to the organization's latest monthly report, OPEC's output in October stood at 31.383 mbpd — some 256,500 barrels below the figure for September.
However, according to OPEC report, estimated demand for OPEC crude in 2015 remains at 29.6 mbpd — an increase of 0.6 mbpd over the previous year. In 2016, demand for OPEC crude is forecast at 30.8 mbpd, around 1.2 mbpd higher than in the current year.
Jafari Boneh said that the main problem is the absence of a binding production quota, specifically for each member of OPEC. "The overall ceiling level has been set at 30 mbpd, but the quota for each member state has not been defined," he said.
The Iranian lawmaker added that Saudi Arabia persists on defending its market share, but it seems that Riyadh's decision is politically, rather than economically, motivated.
Saudi Arabia produced 10.125 mbpd in October which is 442,000 barrels per day more than 2014 average.
Jafari Boneh added that currently, OPEC members face losses due to low oil price.
OPEC oil basket price has decreased from $108 per barrel in 2014 to below $40 currently.