TEHRAN -- Iran's Oil Minister Gholam-Hossein Nozari has stressed the need of investment for the country's oil industry, local satellite Press TV reported on Saturday.
As one of the oil producing countries, investment is needed for Iran because it "is the only way to guarantee the energy safety of consumers," Nozari said.
"If the oil consuming countries want a continued production of oil and its supply to the markets, they should pave the way for investment in the oil rich countries and avoid double standards," he was quoted as saying.
Nozari was in London on Friday for an energy conference after attending a ministerial meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Algeria's Oran city.
During the Oran meeting on Wednesday, the OPEC agreed on a deepest-ever net cut of 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd) as of Jan. 1, bringing the total output cut in 2008 to 4.2 million bpd, in another attempt to bolster sagging oil prices under the global economic slowdown.
Oil has shed more than 70 percent from its July peak of 147 dollars a barrel, as world energy demand continued to weaken with major economies, including the United States, Euro zone, Britain and Japan, officially in recession.
As one of the oil producing countries, investment is needed for Iran because it "is the only way to guarantee the energy safety of consumers," Nozari said.
"If the oil consuming countries want a continued production of oil and its supply to the markets, they should pave the way for investment in the oil rich countries and avoid double standards," he was quoted as saying.
Nozari was in London on Friday for an energy conference after attending a ministerial meeting of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Algeria's Oran city.
During the Oran meeting on Wednesday, the OPEC agreed on a deepest-ever net cut of 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd) as of Jan. 1, bringing the total output cut in 2008 to 4.2 million bpd, in another attempt to bolster sagging oil prices under the global economic slowdown.
Oil has shed more than 70 percent from its July peak of 147 dollars a barrel, as world energy demand continued to weaken with major economies, including the United States, Euro zone, Britain and Japan, officially in recession.
