“Iran has currently enough capacity to make up for Iraq’s oil supply shortage,” Zanganeh told Shana.
“Iraq’s upheavals aside, Iran has always sought to maintain a steady and stable supply in the oil market,” he said.
Zanganeh said that Iran has failed to benefit from its maximum production capacity due to the US sanctions.
Iraq is OPEC’s second-biggest producer with production of 3.3m barrels a day. Between now and 2019, the International Energy Agency, a leading energy forecaster, expects the country to provide almost two-thirds of the growth in the oil-producing cartel’s production capacity.
Yet, as the country slides towards a sectarian civil war, Brent, the international oil marker, has seen only modest gains, rising just over $5 a barrel to a nine-month high of $115 since the onslaught by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant two weeks ago.
The Iranian minister also said that Iran is in talks with oil giants for investment in the Islamic Republic’s energy sector.
“Given the present circumstances, I am optimistic about the return of these companies to Iran,” he said.
Zanganeh recently met with oil giants’ chief executives on the sidelines of the ministerial meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Foreign oil companies have shown willingness to resume work in Iran as sanctions are expected to be eased on Iran.
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