Seemingly confident of a positive outcome to the nuclear talks, and in turn a lifting of sanctions, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh this week called on Opec to cut its 30mn b/d production target by at least 5%, to both balance the market, and prepare for a post-sanctions hike to Iran’s export volumes.

World oil prices have fallen by close to 50% since June last year, as a combination of strong production from the US (see p12) and months of Opec producing comfortably above its 30mn b/d target has only exacerbated the current supply glut in the market. Opec output stood at 31.07mn b/d in March according to MEES estimates, representing the ninth consecutive month that the producer group delivered above its target. (CONTINUED - 619 WORDS)