Iran calls for oil market stability

TEHRAN, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Oil Minister Gholam-Hossein Nozari on
Saturday called for the stability of international oil market after a sharp
crude price decline on Friday, Iran's English-language Press TV reported.

"We should be after market stability," Nozari told reporters Saturday after
the opening ceremony of an oil forum held in Tehran. "Because the stability of
the market is important both for the producer and the consumer."

Oil prices fell to less than 80 U.S. dollars per barrel on Friday for the
first time in a year. On the New York Mercantile Exchange oil fell by 8.89
dollars to close at 77.70 dollars per barrel, its lowest price since Sept. 10,
2007.

Nozari contributed the continuous decline of oil price to the falling
demand for oil due to global economic recession.

"Studies indicate that the current critical problem is what we have to do
with demand in the market," he said, adding that "We must help to find solutions
for Europe, the United States and parts of Asia to get out of their current
financial turmoil."

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) members will meet
in an extraordinary meeting on Nov. 18 in Vienna to review oil market conditions
and falling prices, while the next OPEC ministerial meeting was set to be held
on Dec. 17.

According to Press TV, the cartel is likely to cut production to shore up
prices.

Oil price once reached a record high of 147 U.S. dollars per barrel in
July, which was almost two times the price on Friday.

The OPEC oil ministers have decided on Sept.10 to cut the group's output by
520,000 barrels per day (bpd) in the next 40 days, but the oil price was still
dropping after the decision.