Iran Asks S. Arabia, Kuwait to respect OPEC

Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qassemi renewed calls for OPEC members Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to ease back their above-quota production as Libyan oil flows back into the market. "Today, supply and demand in the market is balanced and Iran's policy is to keep OPEC member states from raising production," Qassemi said on the oil ministry's website ahead of a meeting by the cartel on Wednesday. Iran also wishes to see an "end (to) some countries' extra production which started when Libya exited the market," he said. Qassemi did not name the countries, but the remarks were clearly aimed at Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. The two Persian Gulf states boosted production after Libya ceased exports during the anti-Qaddafi revolution this year. "Libya's production will reach 1.5 million barrels a day in less than a year, and Iraq is also seeing a rise in production," Qassemi said. Libyan production topped 600,000 barrels a day in November, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). OPEC, of which Iran currently holds the rotating presidency, is expected to maintain its quota system during this week's ministerial meeting in Vienna, analysts say. The oil cartel is currently injecting 30 million barrels per day (bpd) into the market, including the output from Iraq, which is exempt from quotas as it struggles to rebuild after years of conflict. Excluding Iraq, the cartel is pumping almost 10 percent above its aggregate quota limit. Saudi Arabia -- OPEC's biggest producer -- was pumping 9.45 million bpd in October, well above its quota of 8.05 million, according to the IEA.