With U.S. Waivers Ending Wednesday:

President Rouhani: Iran to Continue Oil Exports

Date: 30 April 2019 - 21:56

News ID: ۶۵۴۳۷

TEHRAN (Dispatches) -- Iran will continue to export oil despite U.S. pressure aimed at reducing the country’s crude shipments to zero, President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday.
"America’s decision that Iran’s oil exports must reach zero is a wrong and mistaken decision, and we won’t let this decision be executed and operational,” Rouhani said.
"In future months, the Americans themselves will see that we will continue our oil exports.”
Oil prices hit their highest since November in recent days after Washington said all waivers for sanctions-hit Iranian oil would end this week, pressuring importers to stop buying from Tehran and further tightening global supply.
The United States demanded on April 22 that buyers of Iranian oil stop purchases by May 1 or face sanctions, ending six months of waivers that had allowed Iran’s eight biggest customers, most of them in Asia, to import limited volumes.
Rouhani said if the United States can block one method for Iran to export oil, Tehran will find other ways to do so.
On Tuesday, National Iranian Oil Co offered 1 million barrels of heavy crude on the Iran Energy Exchange (IRENEX) in an attempt to attract new, private buyers.
Trading in crude oil is state-controlled in Iran, but to try to work around U.S. sanctions, the government last year started selling to private buyers through the exchange.
Fars news agency reported that 70,000 barrels were sold at $60.68 a barrel. Iran does not reveal the identity of private buyers on the energy exchange because they might be targeted by U.S. penalties.
OPEC oil supply hit a four-year low in April, a Reuters survey found, due to further involuntary declines in sanctions-hit Iran and Venezuela and output restraint by top exporter Saudi Arabia.
The 14-member Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries pumped 30.23 million barrels per day (bpd) this month, the survey showed, down 90,000 bpd from March and the lowest OPEC total since 2015, the Reuters survey showed.
The survey suggests that Saudi Arabia and its Persian Gulf allies are maintaining even larger supply cuts than called for by OPEC’s latest deal, shrugging off pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump to increase supply to lower oil prices.
Crude oil is trading above $73 a barrel and hit a six-month high above $75 last week, boosted by Saudi supply restraint and curbs in Venezuela and Iran, which face U.S. sanctions that are limiting their exports.
"The Iran sanctions come on top of already fragile supplies and raise concerns about tightening markets,” Norbert Ruecker of Swiss bank Julius Baer said.
OPEC, Russia and other non-members, an alliance known as OPEC+, agreed in December to reduce supply by 1.2 million bpd from Jan. 1. OPEC’s share of the cut is 800,000 bpd, to be delivered by 11 members - all except Iran, Libya and Venezuela.
In April, the 11 OPEC members bound by the agreement achieved 132 percent of pledged cuts, the survey found, compared to 145 percent in March, due to higher production in Nigeria and small increases in Saudi Arabia and Iraq.
In Venezuela, supply fell by 100,000 bpd due to the impact of U.S. sanctions on state oil company PDVSA and a long-term decline in production, according to the survey.
The latest OPEC+ deal came just months after the group agreed to pump more oil, which in turn partially unwound their original supply-limiting accord that took effect in 2017.
April’s output is the lowest by OPEC since February 2015, excluding membership changes that have taken place since then, Reuters surveys show.