TEHRAN (Dispatches) -- Iranian Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh said OPEC could agree in June to begin easing current oil production curbs in 2019, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.
Zangeneh also told the WSJ in an interview that Iran wanted OPEC to work to keep oil prices around $60 a barrel to contain U.S. shale oil production.
"If the price jumps to around $70 ... it will motivate more production in shale oil in the United States," Zangeneh said.
Iran will press for carefully bringing back some of its own production, the WSJ cited Zangeneh as saying, adding the OPEC member currently pumps about 3.8 million barrels per day (bpd) and could produce about 100,000 bpd more. He did not say when Iran could raise its output.
Iran is allowed to pump up to 3.8 million bpd under a global pact between OPEC, Russia and other oil producers to limit supply. OPEC meets next in June.