OPEC Iran Gov:Calls On Non-OPEC Producers To Join Any Action

LONDON -(Dow Jones)- Iran's governor for the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries Thursday called on non-OPEC oil producers to join any action the group takes at its emergency meeting next week.
Mohammad Khatibi, speaking to Dow Jones Newswires, didn't say what decision could be taken but some OPEC ministers have called for a fresh production cut.
If they joined OPEC's decision, "their goals could be reached faster. They could enjoy" the results of any action, he said.
Thursday, OPEC said it would bring forward the date of an extraordinary meeting from Nov. 18 to Oct. 24 after oil prices dropped under $70 a barrel.
Russia, a key non-OPEC producer, has recently called for closer cooperation with the cartel. That sparked speculation it could decide to join a concerted production cut, which it did to arrest a decline in prices at the end of 2001.
Khatibi mentioned Russia as a key non-OPEC oil producer that could join any OPEC decision as well as Sudan, Mexico and Norway.
He also said that since some oil projects outside Iran, typically unconventional, needed a $65 to $70 a barrel price to break even, they may now be "postponed or canceled."
By Benoit Faucon, Dow Jones Newswires; +44-20-7842-9266; benoit.faucon@dowjones.com
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
10-16-08 1201ET