TEHRAN (Reuters) – Some OPEC members began pumping more crude well ahead of their decision earlier this month to increase output, Iran’s OPEC governor said.

Rising oil prices and increased demand for crude caused OPEC members to backslide on their quota cuts months ago, an Iranian news agency reported Hossein Kazempour Ardebili as saying.

Members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed earlier this month to raise the cartel’s output by 500,000 barrels per day (bpd) from Nov. 1. The increase was apportioned based on actual production rather than on quotas.

“In recent months, because of the increase in crude prices and extra demand in the market, the commitment of members to the quotas has gradually decreased,” Kazempour Ardebili was quoted as saying by ISNA news agency in a report on Sunday.

He said this commitment by members had decreased by “50 percent” but did not give further details.

He also repeated comments made on Thursday that the surge in oil prices to above $80 a barrel was not sustainable.

“The fundamentals of the oil market and the situation of demand and supply cannot support prices around $80 a barrel, and the price of crude oil will be adjusted in the coming months,” he added.