Iran ready to boost exports by 1mn b/d: Zanganeh

OREANDA-NEWS. Iran is ready to swiftly boost crude exports by 1mn b/d when sanctions are lifted, oil minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said. Tehran will be able to rapidly ramp up exports by tapping the collective capacity of all Iranian fields, he said.

Iranian oil exports have halved to about 1mn-1.2mn b/d since sanctions took effect in 2012. The figure cited by Zanganeh roughly equals the barrels removed from the market by sanctions.

Representatives from Iran and the G5+1 group of powers are in Lausanne, Switzerland this week, locked in negotiations over Iran's nuclear ambitions ahead of a 31 March deadline to reach a political framework. A self-imposed deadline to reach a comprehensive agreement looms on 30 June.

A framework agreement could allow for a significant downward price move for oil, but Iran may not be able to boost exports as swiftly as advertised. Idle fields may not respond as quickly or as strongly as Iran hopes. Tehran also faces difficulties in financing oil and gas projects. Strapped for cash, it will tap its national development fund to keep its hydrocarbons sector moving forward. On the other hand, if sanctions are lifted Iran can tap the millions of barrels of crude it currently has in storage offshore while it ramps up production.