TEHRAN- Iranian Oil Minister Javad Oji said that the country’s crude oil exports to the target markets are being carried out without any problems.

“Fortunately, by identifying new markets and customers and new export processes, we have been able to find good markets and there has been no stoppage in the export of crude oil”, the minister reiterated, adding that the U.S. has repeatedly admitted that the sanctions have had on effect on the sale of Iranian oil.

“With the new solutions presented by my colleagues in the international affairs department of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), we have been able to obtain good and attractive markets for Iran's crude oil, gas condensate, oil products and petrochemicals”, Oji further stated.

“Today, the issue of energy security is considered one of the most important issues in the world, and this importance gradually doubles as the cold season approaches”, the minister emphasized.

Also, last month, Iran’s First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber had said that the country is currently selling its oil in global markets and getting paid for it without any problems.

“In the past, we sold oil but couldn’t receive the revenues and our basic good supplies had all reached the red line but with the guidance of the Leader, we have been able to sell our oil, get paid, and bring in basic goods,” Mokhber said in a gathering of government officials.

Iran has been ramping up its oil production and exports over the past year as the country has been implementing new strategies to overcome U.S. sanctions.

The Islamic Republic’s oil export in Q1 2022 increased significantly so that it registered the fastest growth rate among all producers in West Asia. This year, the volume of Iranian crude export reached its highest since former U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from the so-called Iranian nuclear deal in 2018.

Back in April, the Wall Street Journal reported that Iran has been boosting oil exports in the current year as major oil buyers like China are cutting back imports from Russia due to the war with Ukraine.

Based on the report, Iranian oil exports increased by 30 percent in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the previous year, to reach 870,000 barrels per day (bpd).

Also in early September, the managing director of National Iranian Oil Company underlined the increase in the country’s oil exports over the past 12 months since the 13th government has taken office, saying: “Considering the increase in oil production capacity, it is possible to increase our exports even more if demand in global markets increases.”

Mohsen Khojasteh-Mehr told IRNA that the country’s oil production capacity was going to increase by 200,000 to 4.038 million bpd by the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2023).

“With the measures taken, Iran's oil production capacity will increase to 4.038 million barrels per day by the end of this year,” he said on September 2.

The official put the Islamic Republic’s current oil production capacity at 3.838 million bpd.

MA/MA