Azerbaijan, Baku, Nov.20/ Trend G.Mehdi/
Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi has stated that the country has the potential to ship 2 million barrels of oil per day, IRNA reported.
Regardless of the pressures to cripple Iran's oil sector, we have ships through which we can transport up to 2 million barrels of oil per day, he added.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has recently reported that Iranian oil output rose by around 70,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 2.7 million bpd in October. Iranian exports jumped to 1.3 million bpd from 1.0 million seen in the two previous months.
"China and South Korea appear to account for the lion's share of the increase in Iranian imports," the IEA said.
The hike in imports may have brought Iran an additional $900 million last month, according to Reuters calculations based on the price for its oil of $100 a barrel.
National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) is a subsidiary of the National Iranian Oil Company. It is the biggest tanker company in the Middle East and 4th in the world. NITC has a capacity of 11 million tons per year.
The EU sanctions against Iran have prevented European insurers from dealing with Iranian tankers, and this has severely affected Iran's export, as without cover, its tanker cannot deliver oil. It has lost all of its European customers, and other international customers have drastically reduced their purchases.
An Iranian Protection and Indemnity (P&I) club has emerged and started to offer full cover and protection to the entire National Iran Tanker Company's (NITC) fleet of 44 ships.
Qasemi said in July that although the West seeks to topple the Islamic establishment by imposing sanctions against Iran's oil sector, the country's oil exports will never cease.
Qasemi emphasized that Iran's oil market will never close because oil consumer countries need Iranian crude.
"There are many ways to easily sell oil, one of which is to take advantage of businessmen and the private sector," Qasemi said.
On October 15, the European Union agreed to impose new sanctions on Iran on Monday to increase pressure over its disputed nuclear program
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