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Iran denies plan to cut oil exports
Iran is exporting oil as usual and has no plans to cut crude exports, a senior oil official said on Wedneday, a day after the president was quoted as saying Tehran was considering a plan to cut output.
- Reuters
- Published: 00:33 May 15, 2008
Tehran: Iran is exporting oil as usual and has no plans to cut crude exports, a senior oil official said on Wedneday, a day after the president was quoted as saying Tehran was considering a plan to cut output.
"There is no plan to cut exports and we keep our promises [to clients] and we export as usual," said Hojjatollah Ghanimifard, international affairs director at the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC).
Oil surged to a record peak near $127 on Tuesday after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying that the second-largest producer in the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) was studying a plan to cut output despite signs record-high prices are hurting consumer nations.
Any decision to trim output would relate to the balance of supply and demand in the oil market, not political factors, an oil industry source said on Wednesday.
No sense
"With prices as high as they are it makes no sense to cut output for political reasons," the source said. "It would be too great a loss economically to us."
Concern in the oil market that Tehran's dispute with the West over its nuclear programme may lead to a disruption in its crude exports have helped drive oil to record highs.
But the review of crude output may be related to bearish signs from the oil market for supplies of some of the heavier crude that Iran exports, the oil ministry source said.
"In the market, buyers are calling for steeper discounts for heavier crude," said the source. "This is a reason why officials may talk about cutting output."
The world's top oil exporter Saudi Arabia has cut the official selling price for its heavier crude for three consecutive months, setting the trend for other oil producers.
Heavy crude prices typically suffer at this time of year as refiners switch to lighter crude which is easier to make into gasoline to meet summer vacation demand from motorists.
The output review may also be related to the growing volume of oil Iran is holding offshore in vessels being used as temporary storage during the seasonal spring lull in demand from global refiners, a source said.
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