Iranian Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zanganeh made the remarks on Monday evening in Tehran at a meeting with Minister of Mines and Energy of Brazil Fernando Coelho Filho.
“The market in continent of America remains as the last destination for Iranian crude,” said Zanganeh explaining “the US, previously an importer, has now taken up exports of crude oil and given than US oil prices reside five dollars lower than that of Brent, exports of petroleum products to the far west demands economic justification.”
He said the issue of exporting Iranian oil to South America required further investigation unless Iran’s crude output soars to the extent that Asian and African markets become saturated.
Iran’s minister of petroleum said the global market was enjoying an equilibrium since members of OPEC were precisely following the oil cut deal. Not only OPEC states are having an increasing amount of convergence, non-OPEC countries are also cooperating properly with Iran, he added.
He maintained that the oil market was moving towards further balance asserting “yet, no official decision has been made for after the year 2017 when the deal to cap crude output expires.
On construction of Iran-Pakistan pipeline, the official reassured that the project would certainly conclude though it would be better if a third party is involved in the project in order to guarantee arrival of revenues.
Zanganeh later touched upon resumption of oil swap in the Caspian Sea saying “we are purchasing Turkmenistan’s crude through international companies though Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan are also eager to join the project.”
He later touched upon exports of oil to Russia explaining that Iran is ready for the process and the Eurasian sides needs to take necessary measures.
Bijan Zanganeh emphasized the need to boost recovery from West Karoun joint oilfields since the Iraqi side is likely to take up Iran in crude production.
Regarding South Pars Oil Layer (SPOL), he stated that negotiations had been conducted with Denmark’s Maersk company while the firm is now a part of France’s Total who is also in charge of the joint field in the Qatari side; “the issue has caused some concerns for Iran though several international projects have been invited to participate in the project.”
Iranian-Brazilian oil talks began in 2015 when Iran voiced its readiness to cooperate with Brasilia in construction of in-well drilling equipment for deep water production as well as participation in development of oilfields in the form of a new model of oil contracts.
Back then, Bijan Zanganeh, oil minister, met and talked with the Brazilian Minister of Energy and Mines of Brazil, Fernando Coleo Filho. Iran's oil minister said at the meeting that solid banking relationships were prerequisites to expansion of ties between the two countries adding Iran and Brazil are interested in developing relations in the oil and gas sector.”
Zanganeh also stated that Brazilian companies, and in particular the Brazilian National Petroleum Corporation (Petrobras), have a good experience in exploring and developing oil fields in deep waters which can be used for the Caspian basin.
According to the latest figures in 2016, Brazil's oil and gas reserves totaled 13.2 billion barrels of crude and 395.5 billion cubic meters, respectively, and its crude oil production is more than 2 million and 500 thousand barrels per day.
Brazil also consumes about two million barrels per day, Brazil's refining capacity is 2,300,000 barrels per day, the South American country, in addition to being a major oil producer, imports more than 340,000 barrels of oil a day from the US. It exports about 560,000 barrels of oil to US, Indian, Chinese, Portuguese, British, and Canadian markets.
Brazil has 17 oil refineries, with Petrobras managing 14 refineries. Fernando Coleo Filho, who has been Brazil's Minister of Mines and Energy since 2016, is currently in Tehran.