Iraq oil minister confident of OPEC deal

Iraq's top oil official said on Friday that he is "optimistic" about the Organisation for Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) reaching an agreement to cap production levels of the commodity.

Jabbar al-Luaibi hinted to the Wall Street Journal that the country, which was thought to be the most reluctant to cap production levels, would be in favour of the action when the group meets in Vienna at the end of this month.

The 14-member bloc will meet on November 30 to take measures to aid a boost in oil prices, which have dropped more than 60% in the last two years.

In September, OPEC agreed to cut production of the commodity, but the details have yet to be confirmed. The figure being suggested as to how much it will be cut by rests between 2% and 4% of global production.

"I'm really optimistic on the result of the next OPEC meeting," al-Luaibi said in the interview.

Previously, the country's oil minister had said that Iraq would be increasing its oil production, but he added that differences with other members of the bloc had since been resolved.

"We reached almost some sort of, not agreement, but satisfactory results," he said.

One of the major stumbling blocks for OPEC could be Iraq's close neighbours Iran, who have pumped up production this year after the lifting of Western sanctions, and are keen to regain pre-sanction levels.

According to documents seen by Reuters, Iraq would have to compensate international oil companies for potential limits placed on its production.

It is still far from certain that a complete agreement will be reached in Vienna, with Iraq consequently not being able to finalise its 2017 spending plans and provide clarity on its near-term production