OPEC chief warns of ‘unlimited’ oil prices if Iran is attacked

VIENNA: The head of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries warned Thursday that oil prices would see an “unlimited” increase in the case of a military conflict involving Iran, because the group’s members would be unable to make up the lost production.

“We really cannot replace Iran’s production – it’s not feasible to replace it,” Abdalla Salem El-Badri, the OPEC secretary general, said in an interview.

Iran, the second-largest producing country in OPEC, after Saudi Arabia, produces about four million barrels of oil a day out of the daily worldwide production of close to 87 million barrels.

The country has been locked in a lengthy dispute with Western nations over its nuclear ambitions.

In recent weeks, the price of oil has risen higher on speculation that Israel could be preparing to mount an attack on the country’s nuclear facilities. The saber-rattling intensified this week with missile tests by Iran.

IHT