Oil prices dipped down on Thursday morning in advance of an OPEC meeting in Vienna on Friday which will determine the fate of the production cuts that have been guiding prices for the past 18 months. The production cuts have reduced the global crude oil glut but prices have soared to 3 ½ year highs, leading OPEC leaders to reevaluate their strategy so that prices don’t rise too high too quickly.

In favor of increased production levels are Russia and Saudi Arabia. Both countries have the ability to increase output substantially. Countries such as Venezuela, Iraq, and Iran which lack the spare capacity of larger countries are eager to keep the production cuts in place. Nigeria, for example, has said that it will support an increase of 300,000 barrels per day while Russia has proposed adding an additional 1.5 million barrels per day.

As reported by CNBC, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh hinted to the possibility that Iran would agree to a small supply hike, a complete reversal from his statements earlier in the week. Analysts are concerned that this meeting could conclude without a deal, a move reminiscent of a similar meeting in 2011 which threw the oil markets into turmoil. Zanganeh’s latest comments have calmed nerves slightly, though the possibility of a stalemate still exists.

A chief concern to be addressed at the upcoming OPEC meeting is how to respond to declining output in struggling countries such as Mexico, Angola, and Venezuela whose decreased output came from internal conflicts rather than OPEC’s production cuts. Also concerning are the sanctions that are set to be imposed on Iranian exports later this year which would impact their production as well.

Brent crude futures were down 0.63 percent to $74.27 per barrel as of 1:20 p.m. HK/SIN. U.S. WTI futures were down 0.37 percent to $65.47 per barrel.