SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Iraqi oil minister Ihsan Abdul Jabbar said OPEC+ is opposed to oil prices exceeding an “acceptable” level and is studying ways to balance the market.
Abdul Jabbar told reporters on Wednesday that $75 to $85 is an “acceptable” price for a barrel of crude in the long term, according to Reuters.
OPEC and its allies, a group known as OPEC+, is “at the same time against further boosting global oil inventories, as they could lead to the collapse of oil markets,’ he said.
On October 4, OPEC, Russia and their allies, known as OPEC+, resisted calls to raise output faster and stuck to its plan for a 400,000 barrel-per-day increase for November.
That sent crude prices to three-year highs, adding to inflationary pressures globally.
Brent crude was trading at $85 per barrel on Thursday.
The Iraqi oil minister said on Wednesday that crude oil prices could reach $100 per barrel in the first or second quarter of next year as global inventories are at their lowest level.
Iraq’s government budget for 2022 should be based on an oil price of $55 to $60, Abdul Jabbar said, adding that he expected exports to average 3.4 million barrels per day in October including from the Kurdistan Region.
