Iran is now the fourth largest oil exporter among the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). An official of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), Seyyed Mohsen Qamsari cited Western sanctions as the primary cause of a decrease in the country’s oil exports and the resulting drop in OPEC rankings.
Qamsari expressed optimism that Iran’s oil exports will rise in the coming month, adding that the Islamic republic’s oil exports are about one million barrels per day.
“Taking the second place in OPEC is quite tough given the increase in Iraq’s (oil) output,” he said.
The NIOC official noted that former buyers of Iranian oil have expressed willingness to resume dealings with the country, while Iran’s crude oil exports to Asia have increased in recent months despite the sanctions.
Over 50% of Iran’s proven oil reserves of 154 billion barrels are held in five large fields. This makes Iran’s reserves the fourth largest in the world, accounting for 9% of the world’s total oil reserves. Iran’s natural gas reserves are the second-largest in the world with most of it untapped.
