Iran skips Opec meet on oil freeze

Major oil producers began talks in Qatar on Sunday to try to reach a deal on capping production to boost prices, despite Iran’s absence. Talks were delayed by several hours after some countries dem-anded changes to a draft agreement that calls for freezing production until October, a delegate said.

The delegate said a “small team of experts” was assigned to make the changes before the ministers went into the official meeting in the afternoon.

Top energy officials from some 15 countries, including the world’s top crude producers Saudi Arabia and Russia, were at the Doha talks.

The meeting in Doha is a follow-up to talks in February between OPEC members Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Venezuela plus Russia in which they first mooted the output freeze.

Saudi Arabia has insisted that all major producers must be on board for the freeze to work, including fellow Opec member and regional rival Iran. But Tehran, which has boosted production following the lifting of sanctions under its nuclear deal with world powers, has rejected any talk of a freeze.

Iran had initially said its Opec representative would participate in the talks but on Sunday oil minister Bijan Zanganeh announced Tehran would send no delegation at all.

Influential Saudi deputy crown prince Mohamed bin Salman reiterated that the kingdom would not accept a freeze without Tehran’s cooperation.

The Indian stock markets are not likely to react too much, to failure of the oil producing countries to arrive at a decision to freeze prices at least till October.

Mr Ambareesh Baliga, senior market analyst said “If there is no concensus then crude prices could correct downwards and this would be good for India but not for global markets and those exporting commodities.”

He said there are other factors like “good numbers from Infosys, which would play out in the markets which are opening after a long weekend.”

Even global markets did well when Indian markets were closed last Thursday and Friday, he added.