Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 5
By Elnur Baghishov - Trend:
Iran's private sector may export oil products worth $10 billion a year, Chairman of the Iranian Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Products Exporters Union Abulqasim Hashimi said.
The private sector has not fully realized this potential, Hashimi added, Trend reports referring to the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting Organization (IRIB).
Hashimi said that if any legal steps are taken and a transport mechanism is created, Iran may turn all oil into oil products and export them.
He added that if the existing problems in the field of export are solved, the volume of $10 billion will be reached this year (started on March 21, 2019).
One of the major problems with the export of Iran's oil is the lack of a structure, which plays the role of a regulator. If such a structure is created in the Iranian oil industry, the products of the private sector can be exported within a long-term program, Hashimi said.
He said that Iran's oil products are mainly exported to such neighboring countries as Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq as well as to some African countries.
Commenting on the US oil sanctions against Iran, Hashimi said that the sanctions have not seriously affected the export of the Iranian oil products.
"However, the sanctions have caused a number of problems, mainly with money transfer, bank transactions and cargo transportation by sea, he said.
The US imposed the sanctions on Iran in November 2018.