B.Zanganeh: Oil output could easily be restored to pre-sanction levels

Teheran, August 28 - Neftegaz.RU. Iran’s Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh has denied the idea of U.S. sanctions’ long-term impact on the country’s oil production and exports capacity, saying output could be back to normal very quickly once the sanctions are removed.

“In case sanctions on Iran’s oil exports are lifted, we would restore oil production to pre-sanction level in three days,” IRNA quoted Zanganeh.

Iran has admitted that sanctions imposed in November and tightened in May have caused a significant decline in oil exports although authorities insist sales through unconventional channels have continued over the past months.

Reports earlier suggested that China, Iran’s main buyer of oil before the sanctions, had imported 8% more of Iran’s crude in July this year.

Zanganeh’s comments came a day after U.S. President Trump suggested that his administration would be willing to reduce the pressure of sanctions on Iran.

Trump’s statement after a meeting of leading economic powers in France came as Iranian authorities also signaled that there was a chance to hold talks with the U.S. if Washington lifted its sanctions on Iran.

This comes as Iran has sought to reduce its dependence on crude revenues over the past months by investing more in downstream section of the oil industry.

Zanganeh said that output of petrochemical products in Iran had doubled compared to 2013, adding that the country would exceed a target of 100 million tons a year of output of refined products in 2021.