Tehran Says Saudi Arabia Unable to Replace Lost Iranian Oil

Monday, October 8, 2018

Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh has dismissed as "nonsense" claims by the Saudi crown prince that Saudi Arabia can replace sanctions-hit Iranian oil in the market.

"(Mohammed) bin Salman's remarks and such bragging can only satisfy (U.S. President Donald) Trump. No one else will believe him. Iran's oil cannot be replaced by Saudi Arabia nor any other country," Zanganeh was quoted as saying on his ministry's website.

Prince Mohammed told Bloomberg on Friday that the kingdom had met its promise to Washington to make up for Iranian oil supplies lost through U.S. sanctions, reimposed when the United States exited a 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and six powers.

Washington is pushing allies to cut imports of Iranian oil to zero and will impose a new round of sanctions on Iranian oil sales in November.

But Iran, OPEC’s third-largest producer, has repeatedly said that its oil exports cannot be reduced to zero because of high demand levels in the market and has blamed Trump for an oil price rally caused by imposing sanctions on Tehran.

"The price hike in the market is the best evidence to state that ... the market faces a supply shortage and it is worried," Zanganeh said.

Zanganeh accused Tehran's regional rival Saudi Arabia of bowing to U.S. pressure, saying such remarks had no "real impact on the market" but were part of a psychological war launched against Iran.

"Any country that makes such claims ... just wants to display its support for the U.S. sanctions against Iran," Zanganeh was quoted as saying.

"What the Saudis had been supplying the market with, were not from Riyadh's spare capacity but from tapping its oil stocks," Zanganeh said, according to the website.

Iran has warned that if it cannot sell its oil due to U.S. pressure, then no other regional country will be allowed to do so either, threatening to block the Strait of Hormuz.

A U.S. government official said on Friday that the administration was considering waivers on Iran's oil sanctions. Oil dropped to around $83 a barrel on Monday.


(Writing by Parisa Hafezi; editing by Dale Hudson and Jason Neely)

Categories: Government Update Oil Middle East

Related Stories

Centrica and Thailand’s PTT Ink Long-Term LNG Supply Deal

Japan Protests China’s New Oil and Gas Construction Activities in East China Sea

Thailand's PTT to Buy LNG from Glenfarne's Alaska LNG Project

Woodside and Jera Agree LNG Cargoes Supply for Japan’s Winter Period

Japanese Oil and Gas Firm Enters Two Blocks off Malaysia

Chuditch Gas Field Drilling Ops Get Delayed to Next Year

French Oil Major Acquires Interests in Multiple Blocks in Southeast Asia

ABL Lands Work on BP’s Indonesian Gas and CCUS Project

Aker Solutions, PTAS JV Hooks Brownfield Services Extension off Brunei

China's ENN, Zhenhua Oil Ink LNG Supply Deals with ADNOC

Current News

Centrica and Thailand’s PTT Ink Long-Term LNG Supply Deal

Petrovietnam, Partners Sign PSC for Block Off Vietnam

Japan Protests China’s New Oil and Gas Construction Activities in East China Sea

CNOOC Signs Hydrocarbons Exploration and Production Deal with Kazakhstan

Thailand's PTT to Buy LNG from Glenfarne's Alaska LNG Project

Woodside and Jera Agree LNG Cargoes Supply for Japan’s Winter Period

Petronas Expands Suriname Portfolio with Deepwater Block Acquisition

Japanese Oil and Gas Firm Enters Two Blocks off Malaysia

Yinson Production, “K” LINE Target Europe's CCS with FSIU and LCO2 Solutions

Woodside Agrees Long-Term LNG Supply with Petronas Unit

Subscribe for AOG Digital E‑News

AOG Digital E-News is the subsea industry's largest circulation and most authoritative ENews Service, delivered to your Email three times per week

https://accounts.newwavemedia.com