Dubai (Platts)--17Jan2011/528 am EST/1028 GMT

Iranian Oil Minister Masoud Mirkazemi, the current OPEC president, said Sunday that oil at $100/barrel was appropriate and there was no need to hold an emergency meeting of the oil producers' club even if prices rose above $120/b.

"At the moment, none of the OPEC members have asked for an extraordinary OPEC meeting. And it is predicted that there will be no need to hold an extraordinary meeting even if oil prices rise above $120/barrel," Mirkazemi was quoted as saying by the semi-official Mehr news agency.

He added that there was no need for concern if prices, which have traded in the high $90s in recent days for Brent crude oil futures, were to rise above $100/b.

Mirkazemi, addressing a news conference in Tehran, said that in real terms $100/b was equivalent to $11.80/b.

"Oil prices should not go down because this will discourage investors to invest in the oil and gas industry," oil ministry news agency Shana quoted him as saying.

Brent crude oil futures prices last week rose to their highest level in more than two years, trading at a high of $98.85/b on January 12. The front-month contract settled at $98.38/b on Friday.

Mirkazemi also said that Iran, OPEC's second-biggest producer after Saudi Arabia, was adhering to the cartel's production targets.

"Iran is committed to its OPEC pledges and if there is any decrease or increase in oil production, it is based on this commitments," he said.

Iran assumed OPEC's rotating presidency in January. Mirkazemi said last week that he did not believe an oil price rise to $100/b would warrant an emergency meeting by the 12-member producers' club.

OPEC has maintained the current ceiling of 24.845 million b/d for the 11 members bound by quota restrictions since an agreement adopted in December 2008, when the group agreed a 4.2 million b/d production cut to shore up oil prices, which had slumped by $100/b after soaring to over $147/b in July.

OPEC did not publish individual production targets for the OPEC-11 -- Iraq is excluded from quotas as it rebuilds its shattered oil infrastructure -- but Platts calculates that Iran's assumed quota under the agreement at 3.334 million b/d.

The latest Platts survey of OPEC's production estimates Iranian output at 3.7 million b/d for December. The Platts December survey showed that the OPEC-11 overproduced their target by 2 million b/d.

"We have never produced as much as our capacity because of our commitment to the [OPEC] production quotas," Mirkazemi said, putting Iran's production capacity at 4.2 million b/d.

He said that if non-OPEC producers also exercised production restraint, oil prices would be even higher.

Mirkazemi said Saturday that the oil market was not short of supply and could sustain a price level above $100/b.

"At present, there is no oil shortage in global markets...at the moment the market can take oil prices of even higher than $100 [per barrel]," Mirkazemi told the Mehr news agency.

"The examination of supply and demand in global markets shows that there is no need to hold an extraordinary meeting of OPEC," he said.

"If oil prices go higher than even $100 per barrel, there will be no worries....one of the reasons for the oil price increase is a weak dollar."

Iran's OPEC governor, Mohammad Ali Khatibi, told Mehr that there was no need for OPEC to increase its production ceiling because stronger oil prices were not being driven by market fundamentals.

"There is no need to hold an OPEC extraordinary meeting and the increase in oil prices is because of non-fundamental factors and is outside OPEC's control," Khatibi said.

He added that severe cold in Europe and North America, higher gold prices and the US financial stimulus package, which he said had "no proper base or support," were contributing factors.

--Staff, newsdesk@platts.com

Iranian Oil Minister Masoud Mirkazemi, the current OPEC president, said Sunday that oil at $100/barrel was appropriate and there was no need to hold an emergency meeting of the oil producers' club even if prices rose above $120/b.

"At the moment, none of the OPEC members have asked for an extraordinary OPEC meeting. And it is predicted that there will be no need to hold an extraordinary meeting even if oil prices rise above $120/barrel," Mirkazemi was quoted as saying by the semi-official Mehr news agency.

He added that there was no need for concern if prices, which have traded in the high $90s in recent days for Brent crude oil futures, were to rise above $100/b.

Mirkazemi, addressing a news conference in Tehran, said that in real terms $100/b was equivalent to $11.80/b.

"Oil prices should not go down because this will discourage investors to invest in the oil and gas industry," oil ministry news agency Shana quoted him as saying.

Brent crude oil futures prices last week rose to their highest level in more than two years, trading at a high of $98.85/b on January 12. The front-month contract settled at $98.38/b on Friday.

Mirkazemi also said that Iran, OPEC's second-biggest producer after Saudi Arabia, was adhering to the cartel's production targets.

"Iran is committed to its OPEC pledges and if there is any decrease or increase in oil production, it is based on this commitments," he said.

Iran assumed OPEC's rotating presidency in January. Mirkazemi said last week that he did not believe an oil price rise to $100/b would warrant an emergency meeting by the 12-member producers' club.

OPEC has maintained the current ceiling of 24.845 million b/d for the 11 members bound by quota restrictions since an agreement adopted in December 2008, when the group agreed a 4.2 million b/d production cut to shore up oil prices, which had slumped by $100/b after soaring to over $147/b in July.

OPEC did not publish individual production targets for the OPEC-11 -- Iraq is excluded from quotas as it rebuilds its shattered oil infrastructure -- but Platts calculates that Iran's assumed quota under the agreement at 3.334 million b/d.

The latest Platts survey of OPEC's production estimates Iranian output at 3.7 million b/d for December. The Platts December survey showed that the OPEC-11 overproduced their target by 2 million b/d.

"We have never produced as much as our capacity because of our commitment to the [OPEC] production quotas," Mirkazemi said, putting Iran's production capacity at 4.2 million b/d.

He said that if non-OPEC producers also exercised production restraint, oil prices would be even higher.

Mirkazemi said Saturday that the oil market was not short of supply and could sustain a price level above $100/b.

"At present, there is no oil shortage in global markets...at the moment the market can take oil prices of even higher than $100 [per barrel]," Mirkazemi told the Mehr news agency.

"The examination of supply and demand in global markets shows that there is no need to hold an extraordinary meeting of OPEC," he said.

"If oil prices go higher than even $100 per barrel, there will be no worries....one of the reasons for the oil price increase is a weak dollar."

Iran's OPEC governor, Mohammad Ali Khatibi, told Mehr that there was no need for OPEC to increase its production ceiling because stronger oil prices were not being driven by market fundamentals.

"There is no need to hold an OPEC extraordinary meeting and the increase in oil prices is because of non-fundamental factors and is outside OPEC's control," Khatibi said.

He added that severe cold in Europe and North America, higher gold prices and the US financial stimulus package, which he said had "no proper base or support," were contributing factors.

--Staff, newsdesk@platts.com

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