Tehran, Iran, Nov.13
Trend:
Sanction exemptions granted by the US to 8 countries to purchase Iran`s oil may, in the short term, lead to Iran regaining part of its market, but in the medium and long-term, Iran`s technology must be upgraded and its problem with the United States should be resolved, Iran's energy analyst, Omid Shokri Kalehsar told Trend.
The U.S. government has agreed to let eight countries, including close allies South Korea and Japan, as well as India, keep buying Iranian oil after it reimposes sanctions on Tehran.
“Sanction exemptions granted to eight countries would allow Iran to maintain its share of the regional and global markets. But the main issue in this matter is money transfer channels,” Kalehsar said.
"It is also possible that Iran's exports will increase in November, as some countries significantly reduced their purchases of Iranian oil before the exemptions, and even South Korea has stopped its gas imports from Iran,“ he said.
“As a result, two or three phases of South Pars field, where the major production is gas condensate, have faced some issues which have been resolved after the exemptions,” Kalehsar said.
Pointing to the key role of technology in the Iranian oil sector, the analyst said that in the short term Iran can maintain its share of the market, but the main issue is the medium and long term.
“If Iran cannot use the capital and technology needed to increase the efficiency of the fields, it will definitely fall in trouble. It should be noted that Iran's oil production decreases automatically by eight percent annually, and if it cannot use capital and technology to increase productivity, in the medium and long term, Iran's oil production will decrease and it will lose the share of the market,” he noted.
Referring to the impact of the tensions between Iran and US on Iran's oil importers, Kalehsar said that major importing countries of Iran have cut their oil imports in the wake of the unresolved Iran-US problems.
“However, with the help of special incentives such as paying tankers insurance, Iran is seeking to maintain its share of global oil markets," he said.
"Lack of oil resources in these countries lead them to import oil from countries with more stable situation, and as long as Iran's relationship with the United States is not improving, the reducing Iran’s share of these markets is happening,” said Kalehsar said.