DUBAI (Reuters) – Iranian oil minister Bijan Zanganeh said OPEC could agree in June to begin easing current oil production curbs in 2019, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.

Zanganeh also told the WSJ in an interview that Iran wanted OPEC to work to keep oil prices around $60 a barrel to contain U.S. shale oil production.

“If the price jumps [to] around $70 … it will motivate more production in shale oil in the United States,” Zanganeh said.

Iran will press for carefully bringing back some of its own production, the WSJ cited Zanganeh as saying, adding the OPEC member currently pumps about 3.8 million barrels per day (bpd) and could produce about 100,000 bpd more. He did not say when Iran could raise its output.

Iran is allowed to pump up to 3.8 million bpd under a global pact between OPEC, Russia and other oil producers to limit supply. OPEC meets next in June.

Source www.reuters.com