Oil minister: Returning oil prices to past levels difficult

Tehran, Nov 16, IRNA – Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said on Saturday that bringing back oil prices to the past levels is difficult but prices should be mended to the extent the new market conditions allow. Speaking on the sidelines of his meeting with Venezuelan Foreign Minister Rafael Ramirez on Iran's stance in the forthcoming 166th OPEC session on November 27, Zanganeh said on the eve of the OPEC session, there will be discussions with other OPEC members but it is not supposed that any member country announces its stance before any meeting. "What's of importance is that all OPEC members close their ranks and unite their stances in the course of the bilateral and multilateral discussions," said Zanganeh. Noting that the goal of discussions is bringing members' stances closer to one another, Zanganeh said what's of importance is that the OPEC members feel the need for promotion of cooperation to improve current market conditions and the responsibility the OPEC is to take suitable action. On the visit of Venezuelan Foreign Minister, the Iranian oil minister said historically, Iran and Venezuela's stances have been close to each other and they have had sincere cooperation./end