Tehran, Iran, February 2
By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:
The Islamic Republic of Iran is both able to and should take back its rightful OPEC quota of oil output from Saudi Arabia, energy analyst Mohammad Ali Sadeqi said.
Iran could even, for a short while, reduce its oil production to more easily achieve its goals, he told Trend February 2.
Sadeqi said Iran can use the cooperation of some other OPEC members, Russia in particular, to achieve the goal.
"After this, which is the first phase, Saudi Arabia will be left alone, and other members will follow Iran," he said.
Iran used to export about two million barrels of oil a day before sanctions. Iran's current oil production is estimated to be around 2.8 million barrels per day (mbpd), of which about one million barrels are exported.
Iran blames Saudi Arabia and some other OPEC members to have used Iran's partial absence to produce beyond their quotas. OPEC is currently producing 31.5 million barrels of crude a day, 1.5 beyond its officially approved output.
International sanctions imposed on Iran with regard to its nuclear program have been removed as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA, aka nuclear deal) entered the implementation phase on Jan. 16.
Free of sanctions, Iran plans to increase its current oil export of one million barrels per day by 500,000 barrels, according to local officials. Iran plans to raise the figure by another 500,000 to two million barrels per day within a six month period at the next step.