Iran Threatens to Cancel Total Oil Exports, Oil Minister Quasemi Says

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Iran, the world's fourth-largest oil producer and a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), threatened to cancel total oil exports if the economic sanctions against the country intensify. "If you continue to add to the sanctions, we will stop our oil exports to the world. If the pressure is heightened, Iran will stop exporting crude completely," Iran's Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi said in an oil conference in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Iran faces international sanctions because of its nuclear program, which the U.S. and allied nations say may be aimed at developing weapons technology. The Iranian government counters that it wants nuclear energy only for non-military use.

Qasemi declined to say how much crude his nation is exporting now. The minister said the Iranian government has a plan in place to run the country without oil export revenues, according to Agence France Presse. According to a report published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration last year, oil sales generated half of Iran's official revenues, and crude and refined products together accounted for almost 80% of Iran's total exports.

According to the International Energy Agency (Paris), Iranian shipments slumped to 860,000 barrels per day in September from 1.1 million barrels in August. About 40% of Iran's exports last month were destined for China.

The U.S. government offered waivers to those buyers of Iranian crude that showed significant reductions in their Iranian oil imports, leading to a further loss in Iran's export markets, particularly in Asia. South Korea, which imports nearly all of its crude oil needs and was previously a major buyer of Iranian oil, was among 12 countries granted waivers by Washington. Meanwhile, Turkey is trying to extend its waiver period, which will end in December.

Iran, which was OPEC's second-biggest producer and exporter after Saudi Arabia before it was recently overtaken by Iraq, last reported its production to the OPEC secretariat in August, when it submitted a figure of 3.7 million barrels per day. For more information, see August 15, 2012, article - Iraq Overtakes Iran in Oil Production, IEA Data Shows.

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