Iran's oil minister lauded the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) for its performance in attempting to raise and stabilize oil prices on the global oil market, according to Iranian oil ministry's news outlet Shana.
"The price of Brent crude oil has risen from about $16 per barrel in May to $45 and it is almost stabilized; this shows that OPEC has performed well in this regard,” Bijan Zangeneh told reporters on the sidelines of the signing ceremony of 13 contracts to maintain and increase oil production in Iranian fields.
Zangeneh added that when the global economy recovers and oil production that was halted due to the worldwide coronavirus pandemic restarts, the supply-demand gap would decrease, which he said would "have a positive impact on prices.”
The widespread novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has caused a massive decline in oil consumption around the world, which significantly weakened global oil demand and pushed crude prices in April to their lowest level since 1999.
International benchmark Brent crude averaged $66 per barrel in the first half of 2019, but fell 40% to average $39.50 per barrel in the January-June period of 2020.
(Anadolu Agency, August 17, 2020)
