Iran's oil reserves risk becoming stranded assets unless the new U.S. administration eases sanctions that have left the country lagging rivals in output capacity and losing a race against time as the transition to low carbon energy gathers pace. Iran, which sits on the world's fourth-largest oil reserves, relies heavily on oil revenue, but sanctions have prevented it from pumping at anywhere near capacity since 2018. -Reuters 2/12/21

Emboldened by the change in US presidency, Iran is pushing more oil onto the market, even as sanctions remain in place, as it looks ahead to a full return to the global oil market as demand recovers from the pandemic. -S&P Global 2/10/21

Even with occasionally reduced oil imports, Beijing has been Tehran's lifeline to circumvent oil sanctions for years, providing a stable source of cash while nearly all countries dialed down their reliance on energy supplies from Iran. This was crucial when Iran's oil output halved to just 2 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2020. Now, the crude-based relationship between Iran and China is stronger than ever, particularly since China is on overdrive to catch up with the United States economically, fueled by a steady stream of oil delivered from all corners of the world, including Iran. -Brendon Hong, Atlantic Council 2/10/21

In August 2019, Mike Pompeo took something of a victory lap. Speaking to MSNBC, he declared that the Trump administration had "managed to take almost 2.7 million barrels of [Iranian] crude oil off of the market."... Today it is Iran's Oil Minister Zanganeh who is taking a victory lap. He told reporters last week that Iran's oil exports are "much better than many assume," and the oil ministry has announced that it would begin ramping-up oil production. -Esfandyar Batmanghelidj, Bourse & Bazaar 1/25/21

The National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC) says the daily amount of production and processing of natural gas in the country hit an all-time high of 840 million cubic meters (mcm), a whopping figure which the country's energy minister says is roughly more than half the amount of gas consumed in the entire Europe. -Press TV 1/7/21

India wants to diversify its oil imports, including the resumption of supplies from Iran and Venezuela, after US President-elect Joe Biden takes office, oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Wednesday. India was the key buyer of Iranian and Venezuelan oil before slashing purchases after President Donald Trump imposed unilateral sanctions on the two OPEC members since taking office in 2017. -Reuters 12/2/20

Oil prices have sunk back to their lowest levels since the novel coronavirus lockdown in the spring. The pandemic is still weighing on the oil market, but now there seems to be an additional factor: the increasing likelihood that former Vice President Joe Biden will be elected U.S. president and ease sanctions on Iran. -Peter Coy, Bloolmberg 11/2/20

The Trump administration is trying to fortify its campaign of maximum pressure against Iran from being reversed by a potential Biden administration. -Pranshu Verma and Farnaz Fassihi, New York Times 10/27/20

Iran's new 1000-kilometer-long Goreh-Jask oil pipeline in the southern Hormozgan province, which will provide the country with an alternative route for crude oil exports that are currently transferred through the Strait of Hormuz, has registered over 60 percent of physical progress and is underway with full force. The project, which is aimed at expanding the oil transport capacity in the south of the country to one million barrels a day, was inaugurated in late June by President Hassan Rouhani. 10/20/20

Despite all the incentive packages, there are still consumers which fall on the red side of the spectrum and somehow need to use more electricity; for this group of consumers the Energy Ministry has come up with a new scheme called "each rooftop a power plant" based on which high-consuming households or industries will be encouraged to install rooftop PV stations in order to generate their own electricity. -Ebrahim Fallahi, Tehran Times 10/15/20

Iran could restore almost 2 million barrels of oil exports daily if Joe Biden wins next month's U.S. presidential election, according to the head of the International Energy Forum. If Biden, as he's indicated, tries to revive an Iranian nuclear pact that President Donald Trump took the U.S. out of in mid-2018, negotiations between the two sides will probably lead to more output from the Islamic Republic, according to Joe McMonigle. -Bloomberg 10/8/20

The first of a group of three tankers carrying Iranian fuel for gasoline-starved Venezuela entered the waters of the South American nation on Monday, according to Refinitiv Eikon data, in the most recent sign of the countries' expanding trade. The two OPEC members have increased cooperation this year by exchanging crude, fuel, food, equipment for refineries and other industrial goods. Many details about the transactions are not available. -Reuters 9/29/20

Iran's daily natural gas exports hit a record high of 79 million cubic meters (mcm) during the Iranian calendar month of Tir (June 21-July 21), Head of National Iranian Gas Company (NIGC)'s Dispatching Department said. "Iran's gas exports to other countries had never reached 70 million cubic meters per day, but in Tir a new record was set and [the exports] reached 79 million cubic meters per day," Shana quoted Mohammadreza Jolaei as saying. 8/6/20

Iran signed on Monday a US$1.3-billion deal with domestic companies to double the production capacity at the massive Azadegan oilfield, expecting the rise in production to boost its oil revenues by US$1 trillion, Iranian officials said at the signing ceremony. -Oil Price 7/21/20

Iran has slashed crude oil production to its lowest level in four decades as storage tanks and vessels are almost completely full due to a fall in exports and refinery run cuts caused by the coronavirus pandemic, industry data showed. -Reuters 7/7/20

Turkey is delaying the completion of repairs to the Iran-Turkey gas pipeline, which was blown up at the end of March, in an apparent attempt both to curry favor with Washington and to pressure Tehran to reduce its prices, according to industry sources. Register Now Flows through the pipeline were halted early on March 31 following an explosion. -S&P Global 5/22/20

Iran's OPEC governor, Hossein Kazempur Ardebili, is in a coma after suffering a "severe" brain hemorrhage. In a tweet on May 3, the country's Oil Ministry said Ardebili was hospitalized on May 1. It did not provide further details. Ardebili is a key figure in Iran's energy industry and served as the deputy foreign minister and deputy oil minister in the 1980s. 5/5/20

Global demand for oil will fall this year by the most ever due to the economic lockdowns enforced around the world to contain the coronavirus pandemic, the International Energy Agency said Wednesday. An estimated drop in demand of 9.3 million barrels a day this year is equivalent to a decade's worth of growth. -AP 4/15/20

Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh has called on the United States and Canada to join non-OPEC oil producers led by Russia to reduce crude production. In a tweet on Tuesday, Namdar Zanganeh said, "Before any meeting between OPEC and non-OPEC there needs to be an agreement on production numbers for any country that will reduce output", adding that the U.S. and Canada need to play a role in determining production cuts. 4/8/20

Iran's Oil Ministry is investing more than $1.5 billion on completing the national gas grid in the deprived and remote regions bordering Pakistan. Head of the National Iranian Gas Company said on Sunday that works to link up cities and towns in the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan to the national gas network had made a significant progress over the past months. 12/23/19

The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) is offering significant discounts for a planned sell-off of crude and condensates in a local energy bourse as the government tries to use the mechanism to bypass the American sanctions imposed on direct oil exports. An NIOC agent said on Wednesday that the company will start offering price discounts and other favorable conditions to those buying oil and gas condensate, a very light type of oil, at Iran Energy Exchange (IRENEX). -Press TV 12/19/19

A new report citing data from the Iranian government shows that almost a fifth of the daily production of gasoline in the country falls into the hands of smugglers who ship the fuel to the neighboring countries. The findings come days after Iran decided to increase the price of gasoline and impose restrictions on the regular delivery of the fuel to the motorists. -Press TV 11/20/19

The latest OPEC monthly report published November 14 says that not only Iran's oil production fell in the first ten months of 2019, but also the price of the most exported type of Iranian oil fell. Iran's oil production in October decreased by 18,000 barrels, reaching 2,146,000 barrels per day. Iran was producing 3.8 million bpd before the United States imposed sanctions in November 2018. -Radio Farda 11/15/19

The Namavaran oil field discovered by Iranian experts has an estimated 53 billion barrels of reserves, Zangeneh said on Monday. Iran's largest oil field contains 65 billion barrels and is located in in Ahvaz. According to Zangeneh, exploration started at the site in 2016, with 31 billion barrels previously discovered. The newly-discovered field adds 22.2 billion barrels to the country's estimated crude reserves. -Press TV 11/11/19

Iran's oil minister said Sunday that China's CNPC has withdrawn from the development of an offshore gas field and that state-owned Petropars will take over the entire project. The South Pars gas field was to be developed jointly by France's Total, China National Petroleum Corporation and Petropars under a $4.8-billion (4.1 billion-euro) deal signed in July 2017. -VOA 10/7/19

Dozens of crewmembers have been rescued after two tankers transporting petroleum products were reportedly attacked and caught fire in the Gulf of Oman. The June 13 incidents come a month after attacks on four tankers off the nearby United Arab Emirates increased tensions between Tehran and Washington and U.S. allies in the Persian Gulf. 6/13/19

The US envoy to Baghdad says Washington has exempted Baghdad from some of its unilateral anti-Iran sanctions, allowing Iraq to continue importing energy from Iran. US charge d'affaires Joey Hood told reporters on Wednesday Baghdad can now buy energy from Iran, a report by Al-Alam news network said. The waiver will allow Iraq to continue buying gas and electricity from Iran. -Press TV 5/23/19

The 24th Iran International, Oil, Gas, Refining and Petrochemical Exhibition (Iran Oil Show 2019), which kicked off at Tehran Permanent International Fairgrounds on Wednesday, is hosting 106 foreign exhibitors from 21 countries, Shana reported. 5/2/19

U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to end waivers from sanctions for countries importing Iranian oil threatens to further escalate tensions with Turkey. Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu slammed Washington's latest move. "We support an international system and multilateralism established through legal rules. The fact that a country alone disrupts this and puts pressure on everyone to comply with its decisions is damaging and jeopardizing the international legal system," Cavusoglu said at a press conference Tuesday. -Dorian Jones, VOA 4/24/19

Iranian exports of crude oil and condensate have surged to levels near before sanctions, surprising market observers and affording the country an important victory in a US "economic war" on Tehran. Iran exported 1.70 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil in March, the highest since October when shipments fell to 1.08 million bpd, data from shipping sources compiled by S&P Global Platts showed. -Press TV 4/10/19

The speaker of Iraq's parliament wants the United States to extend a waiver that allows it to buy electricity from Iran for at least three years, saying it will take that long before the oil-rich country can manage on its own. "Hopefully, this waiver will be extended until Iraq can stand on its feet economically," speaker Muhammad al-Halbusi said on March 29 at the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington. 3/31/19

Iran is increasing its natural gas exports to a number of countries, including Turkey which plans to raise imports from its energy-rich neighbor, a senior official says. "Based on previous agreements, Iran is currently increasing gas exports to a number of countries including Turkey, Iraq, Armenia and Azerbaijan," head of the National Iranian Gas Company Hassan Montazer Torbati told IRNA. -PRESS TV 3/26/19

The United States is extending a waiver to allow Iraq to continue to buy electricity from Iran, despite sanctions imposed by Washington targeting Tehran's energy sector. The original waiver, issued in December 2017, expired on March 19. -RFE/RL 3/20/19

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani has inaugurated four new phases of the huge offshore South Pars gas field in a move, which has been seen as a clear sign of the failure of US sanctions against the country. During an inaugural ceremony in the southern coastal city of Kangan on Sunday, Iran's president officially launched phases 13, 22, 23, and 24 of South Pars gas field, noting that despite all the US pressures on the Iranian nation, especially through the imposition of unilateral economic sanctions, Iranians remain steadfast and resistant and continue to progress. 3/17/19

At least four people were killed on Thursday in an explosion of the pipelines that link the gas network from Mahshahr city to Ahvaz city in southwestern Iran, a senior provincial official said. A bus, a water tanker truck and a private car had also caught fire amid the explosion. -MNA 3/14/19

Reuters on March 13 quoted two sources familiar with the matter in its report, quoting one as saying the "goal right now is to reduce Iranian oil exports to under 1 million barrels per day." The source added that the administration of President Donald Trump was concerned that if it pushed for a complete and immediate shutdown of Iran oil purchases, it would cause a large rise in prices on the world market. -RFE/RL 3/14/19

Iran on Sunday will launch four new development phases of the world's largest gas field at South Pars with a capacity to produce 112 million cubic meters per day, the Ministry of Petroleum says. President Hassan Rouhani will travel to Bushehr in the Persian Gulf to inaugurate two refineries built with $10 billion of investment. With their launch, Iran's daily gas production will surpass that of Qatar with which it shares the offshore field. -Press TV 3/13/19

Saudi plans to become a major gas exporter within a decade raise questions about what the real goal of the kingdom's policy, and by extension that of the United States, is towards Iran. Officially both Saudi Arabia and the US, which last year withdrew from the 2015 international accord that curbs the Islamic republic's nuclear program and imposed harsh economic sanctions, are demanding a change of Iran's regional and defense policies rather than of its regime... -James M. Dorsey 2/28/19

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani put 40 major development projects worth 60 trillion rials (about $1.428 billion) into operation in the southern province of Hormozgan on Sunday and Monday. The president also inaugurated the third phase of Persian Gulf Star Refinery in a ceremony on Monday participated by Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh. -Tehran Times 2/19/19

The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) in an announcement put Iran's reserves of recoverable liquid hydrocarbons at an estimated amount of 160.12 billion barrels, while its natural gas reserves stand at 33.33 trillion cubic meters. This makes Iran one of the world's largest holders of crude oil, condensate and gas liquids reserves on the planet. 2/6/19

Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said Tuesday Italy and Greece had stopped buying oil from Iran despite being granted waivers from US sanctions. "Among the Europeans, except for Turkey, no other nation has purchased oil from Iran. Greece and Italy refuse to buy Iran's oil despite winning waivers. And they don't respond to our correspondence," said the oil minister at a press conference on Tuesday. 2/5/19

Iran's Vice-President Mohammad Baqer Nobakht says Tehran is facing "serious problems in exporting oil" as a result of "brutal sanctions." Speaking in the south-eastern province of Kerman on Friday January 18, Nobakht said Iran is "too far away from the target of exporting 2,410,000 barrels per day planned in the country's budget," which should have brought $47 billion in revenues. -Radio Farda 1/19/19

China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) has decided to continue investing in two major Iranian oilfields but suspend investment in the South Pars natural gas project, Reuters claimed on Wednesday. CNPC convinced the US to continue investing in the North Azadegan and Masjid-i-Suleiman (MIS) oilfields, the news agency quoted two unidentified Chinese sources as saying. -Press TV 12/12/18

Despite the ongoing U.S. sanctions on Iran, India continues to be one of the chief importers of Iranian oil. Indeed, the state owned petrochemical corporation Indian Oil is set to import up to 9 million barrels of Iranian oil in December. That is more than 20 percent of current Iranian oil exports. -Radio Farda 12/5/18

President Hassan Rouhani has reaffirmed that the United States will not be able to stop Iran's oil sales, warning that no crude will find its way out of the Persian Gulf should Washington attempt to target Iranian crude exports. 12/4/18

At first glance, it seems that rising oil prices (33 percent growth in 2018) and low production costs can still generate petrodollars for Iran, even though its exports have declined by 40 percent to around 1.5 million barrels per day (mb/d) since the U.S. withdrew from the nuclear deal and announced the reimposition of sanctions in May. -Radio Farda 11/8/18

Iran's substantial natural gas reserves provide Russia with a significant strategic opportunity to solidify its role in the international arena. Although US secondary sanctions against Iran's petroleum sector resumed on November 5, Russia will most likely defy them by continuing to invest in Iran's natural gas sector. -Atlantic Council 11/5/18

The United States says it plans to issue temporary waivers to several countries, allowing them to continue purchasing Iranian oil without being subject to forthcoming U.S. sanctions. Sanctions on Iran are expected to be reinstated Monday, the result of U.S. President Donald Trump's withdrawal earlier this year from the nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers. Any country importing Iranian oil that does not receive a waiver will be subject to U.S. financial penalties. -William Gallo, VOA 11/3/18

With spending $45.1 billion on fossil energy consumption subsidies in 2017, Iran ranked first globally, International Energy Agency reported Oct.29. The value, which increased 55% year-on-year, equals to 10.4% of Iran's annual GDP and 15% of total global energy subsidies. -Radio Farda 11/2/18

U.S. national-security adviser John Bolton says the White House wants sanctions on Iran's oil sector to put a strain on Iran's economy, but it does not want to harm "friends and allies" that depend on the oil. -RFE/RL 11/1/18

With just days to go before U.S. sanctions take effect on Iran's oil sector on November 5, Tehran's top two customers - India and China -- are resisting Washington's call to reduce purchases to zero, arguing there are not sufficient supplies worldwide to replace them, media are reporting. -RFE/RL 10/30/18

Iran has lost some customers for its oil because of looming U.S. sanctions, but high prices are making up for the lost sales, Iranian Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri has said. "While some countries have stopped buying oil from Iran, we have found new partners," he was quoted as saying by Iran's IRIB broadcaster on October 15. -RFE/RL 10/16/18

A vessel carrying 2 million barrels of Iranian oil was reported on Tuesday to have discharged the crude into a bonded storage tank at the port of Dalian in northeast China. Keeping oil in bonded storage gives the shipment owner the option to sell into China or to other buyers in the region, Reuters news agency reported. -Press TV 10/11/18

The US administration has beaten its first retreat on planned sanctions against Iran, allowing a gasfield partly owned by the Islamic Republic in the North Sea to keep operating. The Rhum field northeast of Aberdeen, which supplies around 5 percent of Britain's gas demand, has now received a new operation license from the US Treasury, UK-listed producer Serica Energy said on Tuesday. 10/9/18

India is going to continue buying Iranian oil in November despite the U.S. sanctions, Reuters reported citing sources close to the Indian oil industry. "Refiners have placed November nominations to lift 1.25 million tons (about 9 million barrels) of oil from Iran," Reuters quoted a source as saying. 10/8/18

India's Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj says her country will continue to purchase Iran's oil despite sanctions re-imposed by the US on Iran. In a meeting with her Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif in New York on the sidelines of the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly, Swaraj said India views Iran not only as a good neighbor but also a good friend. 9/27/18

India is allowing state refiners to import Iranian oil with Tehran arranging tankers and insurance after firms including the country's top shipper Shipping Corp of India (SCI) halted voyages to Iran due to U.S. sanctions, Reuters cited sources as saying on August 3. 9/5/18

Iran's Petroleum Minister Bijan Zanganeh says French energy giant Total has officially left the country, ending speculations over whether it would stay to finish a gas project following the return of US sanctions against the Islamic Republic. 8/20/18

An official at the state-run National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) has told state-run news agency, IRNA, that the company was reducing its prices for September sales to Asia to their lowest level in 14 years, compared with Saudi crude. The discount has been offered at a time that the second batch of renewed US sanctions, targeting Iran's oil exports, is scheduled to be implemented on November 4. 8/14/18

China has rejected a US demand to cut Iranian oil imports despite Washington's attempts to bring down the Islamic Republic's oil sales to zero, Bloomberg reports. The financial news provider quoted informed officials on Friday as saying that the US had been unable to persuade China to cut Iranian oil imports and that Beijing's purchases from Tehran last month remained unchanged. 8/3/18

Some 1000 kilometers of new gas transferring pipelines will be connected to the national network of the country by the end of current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2019), according to the managing director of Iranian Gas Engineering and Development Company. 7/27/18

Russia and Iran have discussed energy cooperation between the two countries and through OPEC as part of their efforts to blunt the impact of Western sanctions. According to Russia's Energy Ministry, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zangeneh and Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak met in Moscow and discussed the possibility of Russian oil companies taking part in projects in Iran. 7/24/18

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on July 21 backed President Hassan Rohani's suggestion that Iran may block oil exports from the Persian Gulf if its own exports are stopped. Khamenei's website said Khamenei supported Rohani's statement earlier in July that "if Iran's oil is not exported, no regional country's oil will be exported." 7/21/18

Japan is preparing to suspend its crude oil imports from Iran to comply with U.S. demands that are reinforced with threats of sanctions against companies that don't adhere to them. As a result, Japan's Iranian oil imports are expected to plunge to zero as soon as October. 7/20/18

Following Russia's lead, EU leaders are exploring the possibility of circumventing U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil sales by trading oil for goods instead of purchasing it, according to Iranian officials. The deputy chairman of Iran's Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and Agriculture, Pedram Soltani, said on July 17 that exchanging oil for goods could be one way of getting around the U.S. sanctions re-imposed after the United States pulled out of the nuclear deal in May. 7/20/18

A fire at an oil refinery in the Iranian city of Abadan in southwestern Khuzestan Province has killed one person and injured 18. A report by Iran's semiofficial ISNA news agency on June 28 said that the Abadan petrochemical complex caught fire at midnight on June 27 and that 10 of the injured were transferred to a hospital. 6/29/18

Turkey has said that it does not plan to honor a U.S. call for countries to stop importing oil from Iran, calling the demand "not binding" on Ankara. "We will follow if there are decisions, sanctions by the United Nations on this issue. Other than this, we will only follow our own interests," Turkish Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci said. 6/28/18

A senior State Department official has told reporters the United States expects companies all over the world to cut their crude oil imports from Iran to zero by November 4 or face U.S. sanctions. The State Department official said he had been meeting with European diplomats to convey the message that the Trump administration is serious about enforcing new sanctions on trade with Iran since President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Iran nuclear deal in May. -Cindy Saine, VOA 6/27/18

Iran has rejected a plan by Russia and Saudi Arabia to increase oil production at a meeting of the OPEC oil cartel this week in response to consumer disgruntlement with rising prices. "I don't believe at this meeting we can reach agreement," Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh told reporters after arriving in Vienna, where OPEC is headquartered, on June 19. 6/20/18

Following the decision of U.S. President Donald Trump to leave the nuclear deal with Iran, European refineries have started to reduce purchases of Iranian oil. On May 8, Trump announced that his administration was withdrawing from the deal and re-imposing the old sanctions on Tehran. 6/7/18

Iran says it has started exchanging crude oil with Iraq through a strategic project which is believed to open a new route for Baghdad to export its oil. Iran's Ministry of Petroleum announced that road tankers carrying oil from Iraq's northern city of Kirkuk had crossed Iran's border and were already delivering oil to reserves in the western Province of Ilam. 6/4/18

The threat of U.S. sanctions has prompted Russian oil giant Lukoil to put its plans to develop projects in Iran on hold while the Indian company that owns the world's largest oil refining complex plans to stop buying oil from Iran, Reuters reported on May 30. -RFE/RL 5/31/18

Iran has signed an agreement with a British consortium to develop an oil field, in the first such deal with a Western firm since Washington announced it would exit the nuclear deal and reimpose sanctions on Iran. The National Iranian South Oil Company signed an agreement with the London-based Pergas consortium to produce 655 million barrels of oil from the Keranj field in southwestern Iran in the next 10 years, Iran's Oil Ministry said on May 17 through its Shana news service. 5/18/18

Buyers of Iran's crude oil are winding down their business with the Islamic Republic after U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to pull out of the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers and reimpose sanctions. 5/11/18

China has said that it remains committed to Iran's nuclear deal with world powers and assured Tehran that it will continue buying nearly one-third of Iranian oil exports. "We express regret over this decision made by the United States," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said. He said that China wanted to "ensure the integrity and sanctity" of a pact that Beijing believes was important for curbing nuclear proliferation and promoting stability in the Middle East. 5/10/18