Iran to double crude exports to regain market share, says official

Iran plans to double crude exports this year as it looks to regain its pre-sanctions oil market share, Mohsen Ghamsari, director of international affairs at the state-run National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), told Bloomberg.

The country is currently exporting about 2 million barrels of its daily output of 3.8 million, Ghamsari said, adding that it has regained around 80 percent of its market share prior to the imposition of international sanctions.

“We are not very far away from our pre-sanctions peak and we will soon attain that share. Our exports peak is above 4 million barrels a day and we have plans for that and are waiting for the right conditions,” he said.

Despite plans to raise production, the country will adopt a policy to produce only as much as the market can absorb and not “stockpile oil in floating offshore storage,” Ghamsari added.

Iran is presently shipping about a quarter of its exports to Europe and selling bigger volumes in Asia.

“Most of our oil transactions and agreements are long-term-based, leaving a small portion for spot sale. We are right now in negotiations with many companies, both in Europe and Asia,” he said.

Iran – which is the second largest OPEC producer after Saudi Arabia – is seeking to attract over $100 billion worth of foreign investment to upgrade its oil industry, as it targets a production level of 5.8 million barrels a day of crude and condensates by 2021.