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| Iran increases oil export despite sanctions | |
| 2013-04-19 | |
Iran's Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi says the country has significantly developed its capacity to ship oil overseas despite illegal US-led sanctions.
"We have no problem in this regard. And we have other customers and, in fact, it's not possible to ignore us in the global market. If Europeans do not purchase our oil, we have also imposed sanctions on them. We have other customers today and more than 60 countries today, in fact, are purchasing our petrochemical and oil products and derivatives," he added. "So we have our presence. We have maintained our presence in the market." Qasemi noted that despite the US-led sanctions on Tehran, the country overhauled its oil industry by developing its shipping industry and expanding its oil market. The official said that Iran has increased the national revenues from the sale of non-oil products and managed to cut its dependence on oil revenues in its national budget. The West's economic restrictions have failed to undermine the Iranian energy sector because domestic contractors overtook Western energy giants like Royal Dutch Shell and Total, he said. The oil minister added that Iran is also set to boost its natural gas revenues by expanding the South Pars gas field and exporting to regional countries and those in Europe. | |
| Posted by:Steve White |