The situation is favorable for us, because in Iran and the Middle East, the cost is less than $10 (per barrel). That's why we're not worried about the market, the minister was quoted as telling the German daily Tagesspiel in an interview.
The global market is currently facing a supply glut in the face of record output by Saudi Arabia and other key producers, pushing prices to record lows for fewmonths.
Iran exports around 1 million barrels per day as part of a preliminary nuclear agreement and plans to double it once a final agreement is reached.
Zangeneh said oil, as a key source of energy, has found its way into the market for about a century and now with gas finding the same important, we want to increase our production and our capacity.
Iran sits on the worlds fourth largest proven oil reserves and biggest gas deposits, according to the latest review of world energy by London-based oil giant BP.
We hope that we can increase our exports to international markets. We want to export gas and oil. We want to raise our exports within few months to the level that we had before the sanctions, Zangeneh said.
Saudi Arabia, Russia and Iraq have ramped up production to replace Irans oil in the market after sanctions cut Tehrans share by half.
Zangeneh said he was sure that the other producers who have increased their production, as Iran went out of the market, will take it into consideration and make room for the country when it returns to former production levels.
[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="555"]
Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh talks to reporters on the sidelines of an OPEC meeting in Vienna.[/caption]The minister said both Asian and European markets were important to Iran.
The European market needs a reliable supply, and we have supplied the markets for 107 years without tensions or difficulties.
For more than 100 years, Iran has been one of the major players in the oil market and we want to operate in this market. We want the European market, he said.
Zangeneh cited the Chinese, the Japanese, Koreans and Europe as Irans traditional clients.
The minister said Iran needs technology for enhancing oil recovery from its brownfields, saying projects would be up for grab as soon as the sanctions were lifted.
We hope that we can begin our projects right after the end of the sanctions. At present we are still studying some information and we think about how we begin after the end of sanctions.
By Press TV
