Iran's Revenue From Petrochemicals to Reach $25 Billion Within 2 Years - Oil Minister
The profitability of oil and gas exports for Iran are anticipated to continue growing within the next half a decade, reaching $25 billion over the next two years, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zangeneh told Sputnik on Thursday
Zanganeh spoke with Sputnik on the sidelines of the Russian Energy Week forum that is underway in Moscow.
"In general, the petrochemical industry in Iran has reached an acceptable level, and its output generates a revenue worth $18 billion. We plan for the profitability of the petrochemicals to reach $25 billion over the next two years and $37 billion within 6-7 years," Zangeneh said.
He added that he did not expect any major fluctuations of world oil prices in the near future.
"We use all methods, do every possible thing [for oil exports] and do not give up. Any means are good here. Oil export is our lawful right," Zangeneh stressed.
The Iranian economy, heavily dependent on its oil exports, suffered a hard blow in the early 2000s from sanctions imposed by the United States, the United Nations and the European Union. The measures came after the International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA), the UN nuclear watchdog, found that Tehran was secretly running enrichment and reprocessing activities.
While most of these sanctions were lifted in 2016 after the IAEA verified Iran's compliance with commitments laid out in the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, some remained in place and even multiplied.
In particular, the United States withdrew from the deal in 2018 and has since systematically applied several rounds of sanctions against Iran's economy, including its oil and metal industries, financial and banking sectors, and trade and weapons development, in addition to travel bans and asset freezes. Due to Washington's desire to see Iran's oil exports at zero, the sanctions are also extended to other states for doing business with Tehran. The most recent round was announced after the United States placed the blame on Iran for drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities in late September, despite Tehran's denial of the accusations.
The international Russian Energy Week forum runs from October 2-5 in Moscow. The Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency is an official media partner of the event.