Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 14
By Dalga Khatinoglu - Trend:
Iran hopes to revive its position in global oil markets lost to imposition of western sanctions.
Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said on Jan.13 that Iran aimed to export 1.4 million barrels of oil and condensate in the next Iranian calendar, which will start on March 19.
According to International Energy Agency's report released on Dec. 11, Iran's oil exports are already rebounding after an interim deal with the West but the Islamic Republic won't flood markets even if international sanctions are lifted.
Hooman Peimani Research Fellow at the Asia Pacific Energy Research Center (APERC) told Trend on Jan.14 there is room for Iran's increasing its oil exports as it has under-utilized export capacity.
Iran's oil and condensate export altogether amounted to about 2.5 million barrels per day in 2011, but fell to 1.5 million in 2012, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.
This amount decreased to about one million barrels per day during 2013.
After the nuclear deal between Iran and Sextet powers achieved on Nov. 24, which will take effect on Jan. 20, Iran hopes some restrictions on its oil exports will be eliminated.
Peimani says that Iran will likely increase its oil exports as the lessening of tension in Iran's relations with the Western countries over its nuclear program and other issues, including Syria, will enable Iran's major Asian oil customers (China, India, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan) to increase their oil imports from Iran.
"Regardless of the availability of supplies in the global oil markets, these countries have strategic interests in expanding their energy cooperation with Iran and particularly importing Iranian oil as Iran has the world's second largest conventional oil and gas reserves whose volume is increasing due to many new discoveries of oil/gas in Iran", he said.
The nuclear deal also allows Iran to access $4.2 billion oil export revenues that were blocked due to sanctions.
Iranian Oil Minister said on Jan. 9 that $32 billion of the Iran's $34 billion oil exports during the last 9 months has been receipted and deposited to the Treasury. He didn't explain the method of payment of these transactions.
Peimani says that it is difficult to say how Iran can transfer the mentioned amount in absence of reports as to the exact share of Iranian oil imports of its known major customers, mainly China, India, South Korea,Japan and Taiwan.
"Without knowing this, I could state that, in general, depending on the case (importing country), the mentioned amount could be given to Iran in one of the following forms: used for importing goods from those countries, deposited in Iran's account there in dollars/Euros, deposited there in the local currencies, transferred to Iran through non-Western banks in dollars/Euros or those countries' currencies.
Edited by C.N.