Iran says no bad faith in Saudi oil moves
Officials in Tehran on Saturday rejected speculations that Saudi Arabia is manipulating global oil prices to hurt Iran.
Mohsen Qamsari, the director for international affairs of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), said Saudi Arabia is selling its oil at cheaper prices in what appears to be the result of a market rivalry strategy.
Last week, the US media quoted Richard Fisher, the head of the Dallas Federal Reserve, as saying that Saudi Arabia had engineered the oil crisis to undermine the Iranian economy.
“This is not about hurting Iran,” Qamsari told Iran’s SHANA news agency. “The competition in Asia is currently very tight and companies from the United States, South America, Venezuela and even Russia are competing in this market.”
Therefore, he added, it is rational for Saudi Arabia to decrease the price of its oil to win a larger share of the market.
“Saudi Arabia has five markets for its oil; Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas and northern Europe. It has increased the price of its oil in four markets and has only decreased the price in the Asian market.”
The international prices of oil have plunged by above 50% since June 2014 when it was traded at a fairly stable $100 per barrel. Experts blame a saturated market as well as the weak global demand for sliding oil prices.
Qamsari did not rule out the possibility for Iran to offer its oil to clients at a discount. “Market rivalry is inevitable,” he told said. “Iran will also implement a change in its oil pricing formula.”
“Saudi Arabia is acting based on the realities of the market. Maybe Iran would have done the same if it were in Saudi Arabia’s place.”
The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in a recent report said the average price for Iran’s heavy crude oil for January stood at $42.84 per barrels. The figure showed a decrease of $16 compared to the average price for December – the highest drop in price among the crude of all OPEC member states.
Other reports said the price of Iran’s oil in the week ending 9 February rose $7 dollars and were traded at $52.61 per barrel.
AA/AA
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