The diplomatic rift between Saudi Arabia and Iran could complicate OPEC’s efforts to calm oil markets if Iran begins exporting up to one million barrels a day of extra crude once Western sanctions are lifted as expected early this year. Oil prices have fallen over the past year to levels not seen since the financial crisis because supplies have far outstripped demand. Over that time, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries abandoned its traditional role of propping up prices with production cuts. But officials in December left open the possibility of an emergency meeting early this year when the impact of Iranian oil could be assessed. Now, with OPEC’s two most powerful members—Saudi Arabia and Iran—at odds, hopes for an agreement to regulate production appear to have dimmed even further, said an oil industry official in a Persian Gulf Arab country. “Whatever plan we come up with, if […]