OPEC to discuss possible shortfall in crude supplies - Iraqi oil minister

By Aref Mohammed

BASRA, Iraq (Reuters) - Iraqi Oil Minister Jabar al-Luaibi said on Wednesday that OPEC will discuss a possible shortfall in global crude oil supplies following U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal.

"At the end of the month there is an OPEC meeting and these matters will be on the negotiations table," Luaibi said in response to a question from reporters on whether Iraq would plug the gap in supply expected from the reintroduction of sanctions on Iran's oil sales.

Trump said on Tuesday that the 2015 nuclear deal, which lifted sanctions on Iran in return for measures restricting its nuclear programme, did not go far enough in removing the threat posed by Tehran to the U.S. and its allies in the Middle East.

Luaibi said the matter was political and that he hoped it would not affect oil supplies from the Gulf.

"We hope the region will remain stable and I personally think this matter will not affect oil supplies from the Gulf," he said.

Oil prices are stable because of market stability, he said, because OPEC's goal "is not prices but market stability and lowering storage levels."

(Reporting by Aref Mohammed; writing by Ahmed Aboulenein; editing by Maher Chmaytelli)