Hopes that crude oil prices would be boosted by a
production freeze are now in jeopardy following a
stalemate at the oil producers’ meeting in Doha,
Qatar, on Sunday.
The conference, held by OPEC and non-OPEC
members, ended after a 14-hour session without
agreeing on a freeze as Iran and Saudi Arabia
continued to flex muscles.
TheCable understands that Ibe Kachikwu, Nigeria’s
minister of state for petroleum resources, worked
behind the scene to get the Arab countries to reach
a consensus but his efforts did not yield any fruits.
Saudi Arabia is insisting that Iran, which was absent
at the conference, must also agree to a production
freeze before any deal can be reach.
Iran, which just returned to the international market
after the lifting of sanctions, is keen to regain its
share, contrary to the wish of the Saudis that the
country should join a global freeze deal.
Iran and Saudi Arabia have been locked in a
regional supremacy battle.
The conference, presided over by Mohammed Saleh
Abdulla Al Sada, the Qatari minister of energy and
industry, ended without any decision.
Decision has now been moved to June – five months
after the deal was first mooted to stabilise output
at January levels until October 2016.
The Cable
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