Iranian oil exports will decline by 20 to 30 percent in the coming weeks due to oilfield maintenance work, says Iranian Deputy Oil Minister Ahmad Ghalebani.
Bloomberg reports that with the EU’s recent confirmation that it will proceed with sanctions on Iranian oil exports, commencing on July 1 as planned, Ahmad Ghalebani told reporters at an energy conference in Moscow that its oil exports to China India, Korea and South Africa may drop due to oilfield maintenance.
Ghalebani, who also heads the National Iranian Oil Company, said the maintenance may have been planned to coincide with the EU sanctions.
Khabar-on-line has reported on recent predictions that Iran’s oil revenues will fall by $50 billion in the current year. Last year, Iran’s official oil revenues amounted to $113 billion.
Iran continues to deny the effect of sanctions on its oil production or its economy and remains defiant against EU and U.S. demands to halt its uranium enrichment activities.
Iran insists that its nuclear program is peaceful and that it has a right to enrich uranium to provide fuel for its reactors
Also Iran’s currency continues to experience a steep fall in value as sanctions tighten on Iranian oil and the country’s financial sector.
The U.S. dollar is trading at almost 20,000 rials, compared to 18,000 rials on Friday. The price of gold in Iran is also rising rapidly, despite gold's recent decline on international markets.
Sudden fluctuations in Iran’s currency and gold markets have become common in the past year as international sanctions on Iran have become more focused on the country’s main export, and its financial institutions have been boycotted by the European Union and the United States.
The lack of headway in the nuclear negotiations after three rounds of talks appears to have had an additional impact on the Iranian currency market.
In the past 13 months, Iranian currency has lost 80 percent of its value against the U.S. dollar.
Despite these undeniable signs of economic distress, Islamic Republic officials continue to insist that the sanctions have had no effect on Iran’s financial situation.
Source: Radio Zamaneh