Iran's Oil Minister Dovish on Production

Kazem Vaziri-Hamaneh

CNBC’s Steve Sedgwick reports from Vienna that Iran’s oil minister took a “dovish” stance on production.

“Our policy always has been cooperation and being a reliable supplier of the energy for the world. We have maintained that policy and there has not been any change in that policy,” Kazem Vaziri-Hamaneh, Iran’s oil minister told CNBC through an interpreter.

Sedgwick said a confrontation between the United States and Iran over Tehran’s effort to develop nuclear weapons could create a “supply-side shock” in world oil markets.

OPEC ministers are meeting in Vienna and are expected to maintain production at current levels of about 25.8 million barrels a day. However, it appears OPEC members are producing about 700,000 barrels a day above the quota.

In February and again in October, OPEC’s ten members agreed to cut production in an effort to keep prices up. Analysts say the full cuts haven’t been made, but OPEC appears satisfied with current prices.

The price of a barrel of crude oil recently fetched $58.34 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up 18 cents. The price peaked last July at $78.40 a barrel.