OPEC fuel-output target to remain the same

OPEC announced Friday that it will maintain its output target of 30 million barrels a day, even as the world's oil producers warily prepare for Iran to possibly flood the market with crude if sanctions against it are lifted.

Crude was down 0.5% Friday afternoon to $57.73 in the wake of the news.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries made its decision at its semi-annual meeting in Vienna. OPEC has stuck to the same target now for three years.

But the group also said it would be up to the individual member nations to abide by that goal because the organization's power to keep members in line waned years ago.

According to the Associated Press, OPEC said in a statement that its members should "adhere to it.''

But Saudi Arabia is in a battle to maintain its market share in the face of fierce competition from the United States' shale oil market. And the world is waiting to see what occurs on June 30, the deadline for the U.S. and five other nations to finalize an agreement with Iran regarding that country's nuclear program. A deal would pave the way toward the U.S. and European Union lifting some sanctions on Iran's exporting of oil, potentially creating an overabundance of supply that could then lead to lower fuel prices.

Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, Iran's petroleum minister, has told OPEC that his country aims to increase production by up to 1 million barrels a day within a year of the sanctions being lifted. He has also said that Iran doesn't "need any decision from the OPEC side to return to the market because it's our right.''

The cost of oil began to tumble a year ago at this time, but OPEC's ability to call for reduced production in order to boost prices has diminished as the number of players has increased, boosting competition.

Contributing: Associated Press