Saudi Arabia faced resistance from Iran to proposals to restore a production target scrapped at OPEC’s last meeting in December as persistent divisions within the producer group undermined efforts to build unity.
Still, OPEC’s arch rivals adopted a more conciliatory tone in Vienna than in the past, with Riyadh promising not to flood the market and Tehran saying it was ready to listen to its counterpart. The diplomatic maneuvering is an attempt to mend divisions that had grown so wide many dubbed OPEC as good as dead and preserve the rebound in oil prices to about $50 a barrel.
