(Source China Energy Network)

　　Iranian Petroleum Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said that Iran has recently increased its oil exports significantly and is preparing to return strongly when the United States lifts sanctions.

　　Zangane said at an industry event: “We will return to the market stronger than ever, faster than you think.” He added that Iran’s oil exports “have increased significantly in recent days”.

　　According to Shana, the news agency of the Iranian Ministry of Petroleum, Zangane’s remarks are difficult to confirm.

　　It is difficult to monitor Iran’s oil exports by tracking data regularly, because transportation is often carried out by state-owned ships that turn off transmitters.

　　Vortexa data show that in the fourth quarter of 2020, Iranian crude oil and condensate exports averaged 163,000 barrels per day, while Argus estimates that Iran’s crude oil production increased by 20,000 barrels per day to 2 million barrels per day last month.

　　Biden’s victory in the US presidential election in November paved the way for a significant change in Washington’s foreign policy and increased the possibility of the United States lifting sanctions on Iran’s oil exports.

　　However, the Biden administration is easing expectations of Iran’s rapid results, insisting that if sanctions are to be relaxed, Iran must fully fulfill its commitments made under the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement.

　　Iran hopes to lift the sanctions before restoring its obligations under the agreement.

　　Iranian President Hassan Rohani said earlier this week: "The ball is on the courts of the United States and Washington."

　　In 2018, the administration of former US President Trump re-imposed sanctions on Iran and withdrew about 2 million barrels of Iranian oil exports from the market.

　　Some buyers have replaced Iranian crude oil with increased crude oil from Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

　　During the sanctions period, China was one of the few destinations for Iranian crude oil exports, and sporadic goods were also shipped to Syria.

　　Some traders said that if the sanctions are lifted, Iranian crude oil may slowly return to the European market, because regional banks may delay arranging necessary financing arrangements until they determine that there is no risk of violating US regulatory requirements.

　　But Zangane believes that Iran will not encounter any problems in finding buyers.

　　It said, “I am not worried about whether Iran’s lost oil market share will be regained, and oil buyers will not be limited to one or two sellers.”

　　"In the past three years, we have become stronger than ever in marketing, transferring funds and receiving funds. If the sanctions are lifted, we will vigorously enter the market and maximize production in the shortest possible time."

　　As Iran is likely to tap the export leader, OPEC member countries and their rivals Saudi Arabia and Iraq are preparing to control production.

　　In February and March of this year, Saudi Arabia is willing to cut oil production by an additional 1 million barrels per day, while Iraq still needs to compensate for the production that exceeded the upper limit in the previous few months.

　　Iran is not subject to OPEC production cuts.