Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec.1
By Fatih Karimov - Trend:
Iran's oil exports may rise if the international sanctions against the country's insurance system are lifted, the Fars News Agency quoted Iran's deputy oil minister for international affairs Ali Majedi as saying on December 1.
Some countries, including India and Japan, are facing insurance problems for importing crude oil from Iran. If the sanctions are eased, oil exports will certainly rise to some extent, he said.
The Oil Ministry is currently revising previous oil contracts with large international companies in order to bring them back to Iran's oil sector, he added.
On November 25,the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA,)Maria van der Hoeven said it would be difficult for Iran to revive its oil output to former levels quickly even if international restrictions on its exports are lifted.
According to Reuters, Van der Hoeven was speaking to reporters in Moscow after Iran and six world powers reached a deal on Sunday to curb Tehran's nuclear program in exchange for limited relief on sanctions.
"If some oil sanctions relief will happen ... it's unlikely that Iran would be able to jump back to pre-sanctions levels immediately," van der Hoeven, whose agency monitors oil markets on behalf of developed economies, said.
The deal struck in Geneva leaves U.S. and European oil sanctions in place for six months, but an easing of a ban on European shipping insurance may ease crude exports to the OPEC member states' big Asian customers.
Van der Hoeven declined to comment when questioned about Iran's access to shipping insurance for oil export cargoes.
The U.S. and EU sanctions have slashed Iran's oil exports to around 1 million barrels per day (bpd) from 2.5 million bpd before they were imposed.