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Oil markets will face problems over Iran sanctions: Qasemi

Iran Materials 28 November 2011 12:43 (UTC +04:00)

Azerbaijan, Baku, Nov.28 / Trend F.Milad/

Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi has said that the recent sanctions against Iran's oil industry will give the global oil market problems.

Buyers could not find a replacement for the same quality as Iranian oil, the IRNA news agency reported the minister as saying.

Most of Iran's crude oil is sold on the East Asian markets, he said, adding that Iran has sold its export-bound crude oil for the next four months in advance.

Statistics show that the EU imported some 450,000 barrels of crude oil per day from Iran in the first half of 2011. At present, Iran exports 2 to 2.2 million barrels of oil per day to different countries, according to the Mehr news agency.

Iran's oil and gas reserves are so vast they cannot be excluded from the world market as France is urging the West to do, the Mehr news agency quoted the National Iranian Oil Company head as saying.

"Iran possesses massive oil and gas reserves. Thus ignoring Iran in oil and gas exchange will not be acceptable by the international community," said Ahmad Qalebani, who is also a deputy oil minister.

France's announcement that it would soon stop importing oil from Iran was hollow, he added.

"The National Iranian Oil Company does not export any crude oil to France that could be subject to sanctions," he said.

If France has said it would stop buying Iranian oil, the foreign ministry said the move would be organised 'in liaison with European partners'. France has called on other Western nations to put into place an embargo on Iran's oil exports.

According to the US Energy Information Agency, France imports the equivalent of 49,000 barrels of Iranian crude per day, a tiny fraction of Iran's oil exports.
France's move followed coordinated announcements by the United States, Britain and Canada on November 21 saying they were slapping additional unilateral sanctions on Iran's financial sector.

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