TEHRAN-- Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said here on Wednesday that Iran's liabilities from oil deals stands at about $23 billion, IRNA reported.

Speaking to reporters after the weekly cabinet meeting, Zanganeh blamed economic problems as the reason for the suspension in Iran's gas export to Turkey.

He said that last week, an Iranian delegation had discussed the issue with Turkish officials. "This is totally a commercial issue and it is predicted that gas export from Iran to Turkey would resume," he announced.

He dismissed as 'sheer lie' the assertions that Iranian petrochemical products are to be sold in advance at lower prices in other countries and said Iranian officials have not made such a claim.

Asked to comment on oil market developments in case of us military attack on Iraq, Zanganeh said tension and severance of the U.S-Iraq ties as well as unrest in the Middle East have kept price of oil at a high level and consumers are not willing to see any hike in price of oil.

He put the maximum price of oil as envisaged by OPEC at $ 28 and said that each barrel of oil is, however, sold at more than $ 30.

"OPEC has decided not to change level of its production level until December and is going to hold an extraordinary meeting in December," said the minister.