Iran seeking to increase oil exports to pre-sanctions level: Minister

Iran’s Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said Tehran is seeking to scale up its oil exports to pre-sanctions levels.

Speaking at a Monday meeting with his Venezuelan counterpart Asdrubal Chavez in Tehran, Zanganeh said Iran, as a member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), wants its share of crude exports to return to the pre-sanctions level.

“It is expected that the OPEC members provide space for an increase of Iran’s oil production in the global markets,” the Iranian oil minister said.

During the meeting, Zanganeh and Chavez also exchanged views on ways to promote Tehran-Caracas cooperation in different areas, including in the energy sector.

In a meeting with visiting Venezuelan Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez in Tehran earlier on Monday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani expressed hope that concerted action by the oil producers would help restore balance to the global market in the wake of the decline in oil prices.

Rouhani said today’s oil prices are to the detriment of crude producers as well as global market stability, adding “We hope that concerted efforts by the oil exporters to bring balance back to the oil market would continue.”

Crude oil prices have fallen by about 50 percent since last June.