7:54 AM
OPEC members that supply too much crude oil to the market are responsible for low prices, Iran's oil minister said on Sunday, two days after the cartel failed to agree on a production ceiling.The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which accounts for about a third of world oil output, announced no change in policy at a meeting on Friday, setting the scene for more price wars in an already heavily oversupplied market. Oil prices have more than halved over the past 18 months to a fraction of what most OPEC members need to balance their budgets. Benchmark Brent and U.S. crude futures fell nearly 2 per cent after the meeting. "The oil market anticipated OPEC's decision, and the countries with an excess of supply are responsible for the consequences," Bijan Zanganeh was quoted as saying by Iran's Shana news agency. "It is known which countries currently have an excess of supply and there is no ambiguity about who they are," he added in a thinly-veiled barb at top exporter Saudi Arabia. A year ago, Riyadh pushed though an OPEC decision to defend market share instead of cutting output, keeping supply high in the hope of driving high-cost producers such as U.S. shale firms out of the market.
FE
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