http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/
Iran says oil price misleading, OPEC needs to cut
24 May 2009, 1631 hrs IST, REUTERS
DUBAI: Higher oil prices were lulling some members of OPEC into a false sense of security even though oil market fundamentals show the need to cut
output, Iran's OPEC governor said on Sunday.
If ministers decided to keep output steady at OPEC's Vienna meeting on Thursday, their decision would be political rather than based on supply and demand balance, Mohammad Ali Khatibi told media in a telephone interview.
"I was surprised to see ministers would probably take a political decision not linked to expert opinion on the market," Khatibi said.
"The temporary price improvement maybe has misled some members to continue like this. Expert findings show that there is an additional need for a production cut."
Oil's rally was based on factors other than demand and could quickly reverse, he added.
"Non-fundamental factors can disappear quickly, like they did last year after the price went to nearly $150 and then fell," he said.
Iran was exporting around 300,000 barrels per day
of crude as part of an oil import swap in the north and exchange for oil product imports, Khatibi said. These exports should not be included in calculations of its supply to market, he added.
IEA sees '09 energy investment down
