Saudis, Iran said to differ on forecasts

Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies are at odds with Iran and other OPEC members over whether the organization should include oil-price forecasts in its long-term strategy report, according to three of the group’s delegates.

The Gulf kingdom, which has led the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in a battle against rival producers, is seeking to exclude price assumptions from the report, according to the delegates, who asked not to be identified because the document isn’t public. The disagreement reflects internal divisions over whether OPEC policy should focus on prices or the stability of the oil market, one of the delegates said.

Oil prices plunged to a six-year low last month as OPEC kept its taps open in an effort to pressure competitors such as U.S. shale drillers to cut production. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates overcame opposition from Iran and the group’s seven other members last November to adopt that strategy. OPEC has since lost billions of dollars in revenue, pushing some members to the brink of economic crisis and prompting calls from Algeria and Venezuela for a change in policy.

“I haven’t received the formal report for the position of Saudi Arabia,” Iran oil minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said when asked about the disagreement in an interview in Tehran on Tuesday. While it may take some months for members to exchange views, they are mature enough to resolve differences and “after ups and downs OPEC will reach an agreement for managing the market.”

OPEC’s strategy review is due for completion later this year.