Nigeria backs oil freeze accord while giving Iran way out

The biggest oil producer in Africa supports a production freeze, Nigerian Petroleum Minister Emmanuel Kachikwu told reporters in Doha on Sunday, according to the report.

Its oil production will be 2.2 million barrels a day this month, unchanged from January, he said.

"Countries like Iran and Iraq have been out of the market for a while and if they are to come back you shouldn't freeze them out where they are, you should freeze them at a higher level," Kachikwu said. "By June we will come very close to tightening the market," the minister said.

"Nigeria will continue to look at the possibility of increasing production, not to sell it, because we have local consumption that is essential for us," Kachikwu said.

There is little chance that the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will hold an emergency meeting before the next regular one scheduled for June, Kachikwu said, according to Bloomberg.

"Rather than focus on emergency meeting, we need to talk more. Because if you held a meeting when you haven't agreed largely on the solution it wouldn't be productive and would also affect the price of oil."

As reported earlier, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Venezuela and Qatar agreed last week to keep production at January levels, as long as others follow suit, in an effort to revive prices from a 12-year low. Iran's production has slumped since international sanctions were imposed on its exports, and Iraq is seeking to rebuild following years of war and under-investment.