Iran is ready to help solve the global energy crisis by exporting its oil and derivatives, the country’s oil minister said, adding that the American and European decision-makers should learn from the current situation and lift sanctions reimposed on Iran.
Javad Owji said many European countries and even the United States are concerns about fuel supply, the Oil Ministry’s news agency Shana reported.
“The unprecedented surge in gas prices in Europe was driven by a fall in gas storage levels. All this is happening while Iran has been deprived of exporting its oil for many years,” he said.
“Europeans and Americans are now struggling with such an issue while their governments have long imposed illegal and cruel sanctions against our crude oil exports.”
While the sanctions have hit Iran’s economy and pressured different sectors, “evidence proves that the unilateral and trans-regional policy has not only impacted Iran, but also affected people in other countries which, we believe, will spread in the future if the irrational insistence on sanctions against Iran’s oil exports continues”, Owji said.
According to the minister, Iran has repeatedly announced its readiness to increase its oil output and stabilize the market.
OPEC+ members agreed on Monday to raise crude oil output by 400,000 bpd in November, as previously decided in the 19th OPEC+ meeting, and their production will not exceed the agreed level as in September, Owji said after the 21st OPEC and OPEC+ Ministerial Meeting held a videoconference on Monday.
Iran has been exempted from a series of cuts to global supply agreed between OPEC and allies, a group known as OPEC+. The country has already been pumping more oil to the markets, as buyers prepare for a potential easing of sanctions if Tehran and world powers agree to revive a 2015 nuclear deal that had been abandoned by the former US government in 2018.
The return of Iranian supplies is expected to affect prices that have been recovering as a result of the easing of coronavirus restrictions around the world.
Raising Output
Latest OPEC figures show that Iran has had the highest monthly increase in oil production to well over 2.5 million barrels per day in May.
The figure is still below the 3.8 million bpd of output recorded before the illegal US sanctions were imposed.
Oil exports, Iran’s main revenue source, have plunged under US sanctions. Tehran does not disclose export data, but assessments based on shipping and other sources suggest a fall from about 2.8 million barrels per day in 2018 to as low as 200,000 bpd.
Iran continues to develop its massive oil and gas sector, despite American hostility and the plunge in exports.
Authorities say higher production would meet growing domestic demand while it would ensure a quick return to international markets when US pressure tactics end.
The minister has recently announced that development programs are underway to bring the country’s refining capacity, including crude oil and gas condensate, to 3.5 million barrels per day.
Gas output capacity currently stands at 1 billion cubic meters per day, which is similar to that of last Iranian year (March 2020-21), but it is expected to increase by 10% by the end of the current fiscal year (March 2022) and reach 1.1 bcm.
