Naimi said there was no discussion of the Iran nuclear issue during the OPEC meeting. "Of course OPEC cannot do anything about this," Naimi said, though he stressed the producers group could try to reduce volatility in the oil market.
Naimi and other ministers also splashed cold water on media reports that Iran had called for an output cut before or during the closed door session, saying that was "completely not true. "I did not hear the (Iranian) minister say anything, either before, during or after" the meeting, Naimi said.
Naimi said he didn't think a cut in production would be necessary when OPEC meets in March, though he cautioned that "it's really too early to tell - we'll have to look at the market."
However, Venezuela's Energy and Mines Minister Rafael Ramirez, asked whether the group would need an output cut at the March meeting, said: "Yes, probably" though he too said "we'll have to wait to see what the market is doing."
OPEC members had thought back in December they would have to agree at this week's meeting to cut by around 1 million barrels a day, Qatar's Oil Minister Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah said. But after reviewing market conditions amid the current high oil-price environment, they made a "pragmatic decision" Tuesday to keep the group's output ceiling steady.