Iranian official downplays impact of Western sanctions
By Sara Rajabova
Iranian officials downplayed the effects of the Western embargoes against Tehran, saying the Iranian nation has managed to turn the sanctions into opportunities for further progress.
By increasing non-oil exports, the Iranian economy moves towards fulfilling Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei's call for closing oil wells, Iranian Deputy Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade Kioumars Fathollah Kermanshahi said while referring to the Western states' sanctions on Iran's oil exports, Fars news agency reported.
Kermanshahi said that Iran's total exports, including oil and oil condensates, hit $96bln in the past year, showing a 5 percent fall compared to the previous year.
Based on the country's Fifth Five-Year Development Plan, Iran's non-oil exports have to reach $59bln, he added.
Kermanshahi said that $41bln of the sum will be provided through export of Iranian products and $18bln through export of services.
Iran's trade deficit improved by 30 percent in the previous year according to which the country's non-oil exports came closer to imports, he noted.
Meanwhile, Iran's Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi said that despite the Western sanctions, Iran achieved the production of many items inside the country, referring to the punitive measures imposed against Iran's energy sector by the West.
Qasemi added that indigenous production of equipment would eliminate the country's need for foreign goods in the near future.
He also cited plans to invest $30 billion in the country's petroleum industry in the current Iranian year (beginning March 21, 2013), Press TV reported.
"Last year we invested $ 25 billion in the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) alone, despite the difficult conditions of the petroleum industry," Qasemi said.
The Iranian Oil Minister made the remarks at a press conference on the sidelines of the 18th International Oil, Gas, Refining, and Petrochemical Exhibition in Tehran, which opened on April 18.
The Managing Director of NIOC, Ahmad Qalebani, said the country's crude oil production will reach 5.1 million barrels per day (bpd) by 2015 from the current 4 million bpd.
"To achieve this level of production, $180 billion must be invested in the oil sector by the end of the Fifth Plan (March 2010-March 2015)," he said.
He also said that the projected $30 billion in investment will be channeled into the oil industry through futures, Sukuk bonds, buyback deals and energy fund.
Qalebani further said that Iran's gas output will be enhanced by 100 million cubic meters (mcm) per day until the year-end, mainly due to the production from phases 12, 15 and 16 of the massive offshore South Pars gas field.
He said Iran is currently recovering 300 mcm of gas per day from South Pars.
The South Pars gas field covers an area of 9,700 square kilometers, 3,700 square kilometers of which are located in Iran's territorial waters in the Persian Gulf. The remaining 6,000 square kilometers, i.e. the North Dome, is located in Qatar's territorial waters.
The Iranian gas field contains 14 trillion cubic meters of natural gas, about eight percent of the world's reserves.
Iran has the world's fourth-largest reserves of recoverable oil, after Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, and Canada.
Iran, which sits on the world's second largest natural gas reserves after Russia with 34 trillion cubic meters, has been trying to enhance its gas production by increasing foreign and domestic investments, especially in the South Pars gas field.
Washington and its Western allies accuse Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian nuclear program, however Iran denies the charges and insists that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.
Tehran says that the country has always pursued a civilian path to provide power to the growing number of Iranian population, whose fossil fuel would eventually run dry.