Rest of OPEC Awaiting Iran’s Word on Output

Oil ministers of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries on Saturday awaited word from Tehran on whether Iran would accept an agreement on new production ceilings intended to bolster the price of oil exports.

The Iranian Cabinet was scheduled to meet this morning to decide whether to accept an OPEC formula for the next six months, a formula that would grant Iraq parity with Iran in oil output.

A member of the Iranian delegation here said late Saturday that he expects Oil Minister Gholamreza Aghazadeh to return to Vienna from Tehran today with the government’s decision, although the Cabinet might decide “otherwise.” He said that after speaking on the telephone to Aghazadeh, he was “still optimistic” that an agreement would be reached.

The Iranian government may simply announce its decision today, making Aghazadeh’s return to Vienna unnecessary.

12 Have Agreed to Compromise

Twelve of the 13 members of the OPEC cartel have agreed to a compromise that would set overall production at 18.5 million barrels a day--with Iran and Iraq each allocated a quota of 2.64 million barrels a day.

Other nations would give up some of their quotas to bring Iraq’s allotment up even to Iran’s--a negotiating device to encourage Iran’s acceptance of the plan.

Iran originally refused to allow Iraq to gain production parity because of bitterness stemming from the eight-year Iran-Iraq War, which ended in a cease-fire in August. But Aghazadeh, under pressure from his colleagues, agreed to seek approval of the accord by the Iranian Cabinet in Tehran.

The other nations maintain that overproduction by OPEC members--current output is more than 22 million barrels a day--has caused a slump in world oil prices and that only a rigorous adherence to quotas will allow prices to rise again. And Iraq, the other nations say, will produce as much oil as its new quota whether Iran accepts parity or not.

Under OPEC rules, the cartel’s pricing and quota decisions are supposed to be unanimous. But in the past, many nations have exceeded their quotas, leading to oil surpluses and lower prices.

Under the new proposals, Saudi Arabia would be allowed the highest quota with 4.524 million barrels a day.