Iranian OPEC Governor Mohammad Ali Khatibi said Friday that he was not aware of reported plans by Saudi Arabia, OPEC's largest exporter, to propose raising its oil production at an upcoming meeting of oil producers and consumers in Jeddah.
"I'm not sure if this sort of news is correct or not. I have no idea because I do not have any information on that," he told Dow Jones Newswires by telephone from Saudi Arabia, where he was attending a meeting of the International Energy Forum.
The Middle East Economic Survey, a weekly industry publication, reported Friday that Saudi Arabia was considering a "sizable additional increase" that would take Saudi production up to around 10 million barrels a day from 9.45 million barrels a day currently.
Saudi Arabia is hosting a meeting with the world's top oil consumers and producers, as well as executives from oil companies and financial institutions, on June 22 in Jeddah amid alarm over surging oil prices.
Khatibi confirmed that mostly ministers, rather than heads of state, would be attending the meeting.
"They wanted to have it as a heads of state but due to the short time, it is not possible," he said. "They changed it to ministerial level."
The meeting was called at short notice and announced on Monday by the Saudi Arabian Cabinet.