Tehran, Moscow Discuss Political Aspect of Oil Market Situation

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on Thursday said that he discussed political aspects of the oil market situation in Moscow.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The diplomat said that difficult oil market situation and its possible political impact were on the agenda:

“In regard to the oil market situation, this issue was the focus of our attention as a whole, and we basically paid attention to the political aspects of this issue,” Abdollahian said at a press conference in Moscow. 

Market prices for benchmark Brent and WTI crude dropped to a 12-year low in mid-January, sliding below the historic level of $30 a barrel due to an oversupply on the global market that emerged amid a refusal of the 12-nation OPEC cartel of oil producers to cut its total oil production.

Earlier in January, the European Union, the United Nations, and partially the United States lifted their sanctions against the Islamic Republic after the International Atomic Energy Agency verified Tehran’s compliance with a nuclear agreement reached last July. The lifting of sanctions allows Iranian oil producers to re-enter the market.

Iranian oil exports are expected to add 600,000 barrels a day to the market by mid-year, according to the International Energy Agency.