Page 42 - IRANRptFeb21

Iran parliament lowers oil export target to 1.5mn bpd
Iran’s oil minister sees oil, condensate output quickly hitting 4.5mn bpd if Biden lifts sanctions
Pipeline giving Iranian oil exports direct Indian Ocean access ‘on schedule at 60% complete’
Given China’s history of working around the sanctions to continue buying Iranian oil, it would be unsurprising if sales had increased, while Bloomberg quoted a trader as saying that Iranian flows had ticked upwards.
Throughout the ongoing period of sanctions, Iran has maintained a base level of export through various covert means, including turning off shipping transponders to make vessels ‘go dark’.
Meanwhile, Zanganeh admitted that it had sought to obfuscate the origin of cargoes, saying “whatever [Iran] export[s] is not under Iran’s name” and supporting “any proposal for selling Iranian crude”.
He had previously been asked if Iran was still selling oil on international markets and replied: “officially nothing”, with covert sales understood to be continuing to Chinese clients as well as quantities piped and trucked into neighbouring countries, particularly Iraq.
Iran’s parliament has lowered the government’s oil export target from 2.3mn to 1.5mn barrels per day (bpd), ISNA reported on January 3.
Iran initially proposed boosting its exports considerably with the incoming US Biden administration; however, the knock-on effect from coronavirus (COVID-19) on global demand and the possibility of extended sanctions have caused the country to revise these figures down.
The Iranian parliament’s corporate committee in charge of the overall official export figure said that with the current situation, the export number was “unrealistic” and would need to be changed.
"The 2.3mn-barrel sales ceiling was unrealistic and non-realisable... In the most optimistic case, members of the commission reached the conclusion that the government could achieve exports of 1.5mn barrels...," said Malek Shariati-Niasar, head of the energy board in the parliament.
He added that the commission concluded that the government could count on only 1mn bpd in the current climate.
But “we can revise this up to 1.5mn bpd,” Shariati-Niasar said.
Iran is planning crude oil and condensate output of 4.5mn barrels per day starting from March 21 (the first day of the 2021/2022 Persian year), with exports at 2.3mn bpd, if current US sanctions are lifted by the incoming Biden administration, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh was quoted by saying as official energy news agency SHANA on December 13.
"The oil minister was asked by deputies whether this oil exports forecast for the next year wasn't optimistic. He answered: 'We have considered this figure conditioned to the removal of the sanctions. If the conditions improve, this figure will be realised. Otherwise, we will sell participation bonds," Jafar Ghaderi, a member of parliament's planning and budget committee, was quoted as saying by state news agency IRNA after a meeting with Zanganeh. If the targets were achieved, Iran could earn more than $17.3bn in oil revenue in the next Persian year, lawmakers were also reportedly briefed.
An oil pipeline that will allow Iran to ship oil exports without needing to send tankers through the Strait of Hormuz chokepoint is 60% complete and on schedule.
The 1,000-km-long pipeline will run from Goreh near the Persian Gulf port city of Bushehr to the port town of Jask in southern Hormozgan province on Iran’s Gulf of Oman coastline, from where tankers can set sail to the Arabian Sea and wider Indian Ocean.
Last week, Touraj Dehqani, deputy CEO of the Petroleum Engineering and Development Co. (PEDEC), said that the pipeline would allow parent firm the
42​ IRAN Country Report February 2021 www.intellinews.com