Iran sees OPEC output steady: Deputy oil min

Singapore, Sept 7: The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is likely to keep oil production steady when it meets to chart output policy next week, Iran's deputy oil minister said on Thursday.

''I don't expect any change, winter is coming,'' Nejad Hosseinian, Iran's deputy oil minister, told reporters in Singapore, where he was attending an LNG conference. Iran's oil minister has expressed a similar view.

Hosseinian's comments follow those of Algerian Energy and Mines Minister Chakib Khelil, who was quoted on Wednesday as saying there was consensus among OPEC ministers to hold output unchanged when they meet in Vienna on Sept. 11.

OPEC pumped at its highest level this year in August, according to a Reuters poll this week, supplying near capacity volumes to capitalise on a barrel crude.

But prices have fallen by more than a barrel from peaks a a month ago and analysts are bracing for a soft patch ahead of winter, with stocks of crude and fuels beginning to build.

Some refiners in Asia have curbed production due to a slump in profit margins, leaving more crude on the market.

REUTERS