No matter what, Iran plans to increase oil production

Iran intends to continue to increase oil production, no matter what, in order to maintain its share in the oil market, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh stated.

"We will increase production at any cost, and we have no other alternatives. If oil production is not increased quickly, we will continuously lose market share," Interfax quotes him as saying.

According to the Minister, Tehran supports calls by some OPEC countries in favor of holding an emergency meeting of the organization to discuss possible responses to the continuing drop in oil prices. Zangane believes that it could "be effective" in addressing the issue of containing the decline in the oil market.