TPT March 2019

G LOBA L MARKE T P L AC E

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). In December, as per OPEC, it came fifth, after Saudi Arabia, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Kuwait. At the signing ceremony for the deals to boost Iran’s production capacity, oil minister Bijan Zanganeh said that the intention was to create projects solely for Iranian contractors.  Platts quoted Mr Zanganeh as saying, “We wanted to raise hope among local companies as [the USA] wants to cause worry and upset Iranian people by the sanctions.” › In a defiant statement earlier in the month, Mr Zanganeh had asserted that Iran would not be complying with the “fully illegal” US sanctions. Nor would it be discussing the volume or the destination of its oil exports, the Iranian oil minister said. But Ms Paraskova, who is associated with the US-based consulting firm Divergente, supplied some specifics. According to OPEC “secondary sources”, she wrote, Iran’s crude oil production plunged by 159,000 bpd in November to 2.769 million bpd in December. In the third quarter of 2018, before re-imposition of the US sanctions, Iran’s crude oil production averaged 3.603 million bpd.

of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) had signed agreements with Iran-based companies aimed at maintaining and increasing the yield of that many ageing oil and gas fields. Writing in Oilprice.com , Tsvetana Paraskova took note of SHANA’s report that the agreements, worth $1bn, were part of a broader $6bn plan for 33 projects to enhance Iranian oil and gas production capacity over a three-year period. (“Iran Looks to Boost Oil, Gas Production Capacity With $1B Deals,” 22 January) According to S&P Global Platts , also cited by Ms Paraskova, the nine deals signed on 22 January are projected to add nearly 90,000 barrels per day (bpd) to Iran’s production capacity within the three years, while the 33 projects raise capacity by 281,000 bpd overall. The initiative was announced even as Iranian oil exports were limited by the sanctions re-imposed by the USA in November. Before the resumption of the sanctions, Iran was the third-largest producer, after Saudi Arabia and Iraq, in the

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MARCH 2019