Tehran, Iran, May 13
By Kamyar Eghbalnejad - Trend:
The US decision to withdraw from the nuclear deal would have little impact on Iran’s oil industry, Reza Khalili, deputy director for Non-Industrial Operation of National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), said.
The US withdrawal would not impose serious impact on Iran's oil industry, as the total oil industry in the country had already anticipated all the arrangements, Khalili told Trend.
Currently Iran has capability, knowledge and specialists who have the ability to carry on the specialized tasks in the oil industry, he added.
The US President Donald Trump announced May 8 that the United States walks away from the accord reached in 2015 between Tehran and the six world powers. Trump also announced that the Washington re-imposes the "highest level of economic sanctions" on the Islamic Republic.
Khalili said that the United States did not cooperate with Iran before, so today no new action has taken place, adding that the exit from the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) would not have such serious effect on the Iranian oil industry.
“In the field of oil exploration and export development, other countries except the United States are cooperating with us,” the official said.
“There are European and Asian countries in this field that we could corporate with them, as the past and of course we have good teams of experts to undertake projects in oil and gas sector,” he added.
Iranian experts are able to increase the country’s oil and gas production in joint fields with neighbouring countries, Khalili said.
Developing joint oil fields, in particular the West Karoun block, in the southwestern province of Khuzestan, which is shared with Iraq is a high priority for Iran’s administration.