Asali ... wanting to reverse output increases
Iran seeks to take back its share of Opec production
DUBAI, June 2, 2015
Iran will try to persuade Opec countries to reverse production increases they implemented to fill a gap left by sanctions on Iran, the country's Opec delegate Mehdi Asali was quoted as saying, ahead of a potential nuclear deal that could see sanctions lifted.
Iran, once the second-largest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) after Saudi Arabia, has seen its exports halved since 2012 to just over 1 million barrels per day (mbpd) due to sanctions imposed by the European Union and the US.
"Production decreases for those countries which raised their production during Iran's relative absence will be a topic of discussion at the 167th meeting (of Opec)," the Shana news agency quoted Iran's Opec delegate as saying.
"Some countries, which increased their production in the last two or three years during sanctions on Iran and insecurity in North Africa, are now not willing to reduce their production," he said, ahead of an Opec meeting in Vienna.
Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh made similar comments in April, but Gulf Opec members, including Saudi Arabia, have refused to cut output.
The Islamic Republic hopes to quickly boost crude exports by as much as 1 mbpd if Tehran and six major powers finalise a nuclear agreement by a June 30 deadline, but oil industry experts say that figure is likely to be unrealistic.
"My view is that within maybe 6 to 9 months they could add up to 800,000 bpd -- so not as much or as quickly as they say," Robin Mills, non-resident fellow for energy at the Brookings Doha Center, said.
"They won't get back to pre-sanctions level immediately, as they must have lost some capacity since then." -- Reuters
