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| Iran says sanctions are not affecting its oil production |
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.jpg) VIENNA (Foxnews) – VIENNA, Austria — Iran’s oil minister shrugged off the effects of sanctions on its oil industry on Friday, noting that a drop in crude exports was being made up for by international sales of gasoline and other refined products.
Oil Minister Rostam Ghasemi spoke Friday ahead of an OPEC meeting held amid new challenges threatening both the organization’s unity and its traditional role as the world heavyweight in determining prices and supplies.
The meeting is formally focused on how much oil to pump. With prices largely at acceptable levels, the ministers are expected to maintain the cartel’s target at 30 million barrels a day. However, members may be asked to cut back on overproduction, now said to be running at over 500,000 barrels a day.
Beyond prices and output, though, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries faces more complex issues, including surging shale oil production in the U.S. and a potentially destabilizing spat between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
Iran used to be OPEC’s second-largest producer after the Saudis.
Ghasemi told reporters that “production has not changed,” although he did not specify over what time period he was talking about. He said any shortfall in exporting crude was being made up by sales of domestically refined gasoline and other products.
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