Iran’s OPEC envoy Behrouz Beik Alizadeh said in time with imposition of sanctions against Iran, Saudis promised the US to lower crude prices to the extent that Iran’s economy will become malfunctioning; “therefore, on the pretext of confronting US shale oil, Saud Arabia reduces oil prices though not only did their plot fail but also shale oil output reached 600 thousand barrels per day.”
He said 300 thousand barrels of crude disappeared from the market last year due to the rise in shale oil production asserting “the main pressure resulting from declining oil prices was placed on Saudi Arabia rather than Iran as the Arab country’s foreign exchange reserved plummeted from 700 to 400 billion dollars not to mention that the figure was expected to reach zero in case the trend of falling oil priced had continued.”
Beik Alizadeh pointed to the increased liabilities of Saudi Arabia’s foreign currency stating “Saudis, who are faced with technical and operational issues for storing and maintaining output levels at 10 million barrels per day, were forced to withdraw from commercial reserves.”
“Over the past three years, Iran never succumbed to unfair demands of some members at the 13-nation oil cartel as evidenced by the initial failure of the oil freeze deal,” stressed the official adding “after lifting of sanctions, Iran’s oil production increased by one million barrels in two stages as the country is seeking to return to pre-sanction output levels.”
Beik Alizadeh referred to the new OPEC quota of 32.5 to 33 million barrels for member states emphasizing that implementation of the oil freeze deal and cooperation of non-OPEC countries will add the surplus volume of crude from the market paving the path for boosting global oil prices.
Iran’s representative in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) went on to announce that Iran’s highest output level belonged to June 2005 when 3.975 million barrels were produced adding “Iran is currently exempted from OPEC’s quota system and seeks to hit pre-sanction production levels.”
The official also said non-OPEC states had shown an 85% commitment to the oil freeze deal reiterating “with the plan to cap crude production and the rise in global prices, Iran’s daily earnings from oil sales has soared by nearly 28 million dollars without adding even a barrel to the country’s production capacity.”
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