OREANDA-NEWS. Iran's oil minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said that Russia is now prepared to cut its production as part of an output restraint agreement with Opec. Previously, Russia has insisted it would do no more than freeze output at current record levels of around 11mn b/d.

But Zanganeh said the Russian position had changed after the Algerian and Venezuelan oil ministers visited Moscow earlier this week. The cut would be dependent on Opec reaching an agreement amongst its members.

That Opec agreement would entail a cut of 1mn-1.2mn b/d from current output of some 33.6mn b/d, Zanganeh said. He confirmed that Opec is looking for a cut of some 600,000 b/d from non-Opec producers.

Zanganeh continued to express optimism that Opec members can reach a deal today. Asked if Iran would compromise on its insistence that it should not be a party to production restraint until it has regained pre-sanctions levels, he said, "It seems all are ready to compromise to reach agreement." But asked at what level Iran would be willing to freeze, he said "It is not a matter of freezing, we have another framework of discussion."