Iran said today it would stop oil exports if the West imposed tighter
sanctions and would go to ‘Plan B’ contingency strategy to survive without oil
revenues.
“If sanctions intensify we will stop exporting oil,” Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi told reporters in Dubai. (Reuters, 23 October)
“We have prepared a plan to run the country without any oil revenues,” Qasemi said. “So far to date we haven't had any serious problems, but if the sanctions were to be renewed we would go for 'Plan B'.”
“If you continue to add to the sanctions we (will) cut our oil exports to the world,” Qasemi added.
“If sanctions intensify we will stop exporting oil,” Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi told reporters in Dubai. (Reuters, 23 October)
“We have prepared a plan to run the country without any oil revenues,” Qasemi said. “So far to date we haven't had any serious problems, but if the sanctions were to be renewed we would go for 'Plan B'.”
“If you continue to add to the sanctions we (will) cut our oil exports to the world,” Qasemi added.
Iran’s oil exports have already been cut by more than 60 percent this
year to only 860,000 barrels per day in September. The oil production has also
seen as dramatic a cut and it now stands at 2.63 million b/d.
The current sanctions, as they are, are expected to cut the export and
production levels even further by late November when President Obama has to
renew the exemptions for Asian importers for another 6 months if they offer
plans for deeper cuts in their Iranian imports. New EU sanction on banking and
transport sectors will also cut the exports further. Hence the Iranian
acknowledgement that in the face of these tightening sanctions, its exports
will go down low enough to be cut altogether.
File photo: IRNA
Is he warning or is he consulting the West ? lol ...
ReplyDeleteA little of both! The Iranian government is in the habit of announcing the “suspension” of projects that are already on track to be suspended because of the sanctions, like “suspending oil or gas exports to Western Europe.” But this announcement is also a warning to the U.S. to extend exemptions to Asian importers of Iranian oil which is due in late November, or else Iran would cut all oil sales altogether, pushing the price of oil higher that the U.S. wants.
ReplyDeleteWe will commit suicide if you kill us!
ReplyDeleteI used to attend meetings where discussions were prearranged.
ReplyDeleteIt means some people were to initiate discussion with a short question and a main actor provided lenghtier answer and at the end someone had to say a related joke...
On the Internet, one can do that kind of stunt alone.... and then you have impression that discussion is spontaneous and atracts many bloggggers!
And those methods work in puppet theatres too.
"I'm not gonna play anymore. I'm taking my oil and going home. So there."
ReplyDeleteI guess when Mark Pyruz was saying that the current levels of sanction would leave enough income for Iran, he was being either optimistic or he wasn't worried about the weak going to the wall.
Anyone has any idea as to what this plan "B" is?
ReplyDeleteIran is producing double what is exporting and storing the difference in oil tankers. This storage capacity is limited and the EU had just made it harder to insure the storage tankers.
ReplyDeleteIran would have to at least temporarily shut down oil production until the stored oil is sold. This announcement maybe a smokescreen to justify the shut down that they would have do anyway.
The big questions is what technical issues a total shut down would raise. Some exerts seem to think that a shut down is not as simple as it seems, technically speaking.
In short plan B has nothing to do with an alternate plan, but rather an inevitable combination of current events.
plan B is experimenting to see if Iran can perfect and export petroleum-based energy drinks.
ReplyDeleteIran's Puppet Master Mr. Putin wins again!!!
ReplyDeleteAll hail Putin!