Baku, Azerbaijan, May 8
By Fatih Karimov - Trend: Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh says any nuclear between Iran and the P5+1 group should lift all financial and energy sanctions against the country.
Speaking at the "Energy Security Summit", which took place May 7 in Berlin, Zanganeh said that what is important after the lifting of sanctions is that Iran should regain its share of the oil market, Iran's Shana news agency reported May 7.
Iran's crude oil production should reach the pre-sanction level, i.e. four million barrels per day, he added.
"To materialize the goal, we need seven to eight months, and to increase the production to 5.7 million barrels, we need around three years," Zanganeh noted.
Iran plans to invest $180 billion by 2022 to boost its energy infrastructures, he said.
To this end, Iran prefers to implement projects such as transferring liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Europe via pipeline, he added.
He also said that the fall in oil prices was somehow politically motivated.
Before the western sanctions were imposed on Iran in mid-2012, the country was producing about 3.7 million barrels per day (mb/d) of crude oil, of which around 2.2 mb/d was being exported.
Currently Iran produces and exports 2.8 mb/d and 1.1 mb/d of crude oil respectively.
Iran and P5+1 Group (UK, France, Germany, the United States, Russia and China) reached a nuclear framework agreement April 2. The sides are in talks to reach a comprehensive nuclear deal by June 30, which would enable Iran to get rid of economic sanctions, including those imposed on purchasing Iranian oil in global markets.
Edited by CN