Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) will stick to its policy of unfettered production after members failed to agree on a new output ceiling, but ministers were united in their optimism that global oil markets are improving.

Oil prices will probably continue to decline and could reach as low as $30 (€26.40) a barrel, according to Gary Cohn, president of Goldman Sachs Group.

Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi named Gholamhossein Nozari, a former oil minister of the Islamic republic, as the nation’s candidate for the position of Opec secretary general, the state-run Mehr News agency reported.

Crude oil prices should fall because global supply is outweighing demand, according to Saudi Arabia’s oil minister Ali al-Naimi.

WARNINGS from OPEC that the massive rush to develop biofuels as a replacement for oil could drive the cost of fuel through the roof is a further reminder that the energy question will remain a hot topic indefinitely.