Minister Downplays US Bluffs to Stop Iran's Oil Exports

TEHRAN (defapress)- Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh played down US President Donald Trump's attempts to zero down Iran's crude exports, warning that his threats will only inflame the market.

News ID: 73246

Date: 23 October 2018 - 16:10

"Sustainable and stable supply of the crude needed by customers is a feature of Iran and no country has the capacity to replace Iran's crude in the high-demanding global oil market," Zanganeh said on Tuesday.

He stressed that Iran's crude exports may not be stopped, adding, "Inflammation of the global oil market will continue until oil sanctions against Iran will be removed."

Zanganeh had also warned on Monday of concerns in the market for inability to compensate for shortages after the US sanctions against Iran, calling on Trump to drop plans to impose embargos on Iran's crude.

"As I have repeatedly said, there is no replacement for Iranian oil in the market. The production of oil by Saudi Arabia and Russia is now at the highest level in history and the two countries do not have excessive capacity for more production and replace Iran's oil," Zanganeh said.

He warned of the market's concerns about the shortage of oil supplies after the US sanctions on Iran which have already heightened the prices, saying that the economic growth of many consumer countries has also slowed down.

Zanganeh also said that non-OPEC producers do not either enjoy the capability to supply more oil, as they have been able to just increase their production 66,000 barrels a day between May and September.

He suggested the US president to drop plans to impose oil sanctions against Iran, reiterating that the market lacks the capacity to replace his country's oil.

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