TEHRAN (Iran News) In his new post, Mousavi will also serve as Iran’s national representative to the International Energy Forum (IEF) and Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF).

Mousavi replaced Afshin Javan who had served as Iran’s representative to OPEC.

Mousavi was born in  1967 and holds a MA in Political Science and PhD in Strategic Management.

Iranian Oil Minister on November 6, 2024, had appointed Mousavi as his deputy for international and commercial affair. He had previously served as the caretaker of the International Affairs Department at the Iranian Ministry of Petroleum.

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TTEHRAN (Iran News) –The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) says Iran took the lead among oil producers in March 2024 when it produced 3 million 188 thousand barrels per day (bpd) of crude, 28,000 bpd more that its output in February.

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The two countries were appointed by alphabetical order at the 187th Meeting of the OPEC Conference, which was held via videoconference on Thursday.

According to the OPEC Statute, the alternate president shall preside over meetings whenever the president is absent.

Following the principle of alphabetical rotation, Libya and Nigeria were also elected as the OPEC Executive Board president and alternate president for 2024.

The representatives of Iran, Iraq, and Nigeria in the board have been already appointed and their appointment must be approved according to the OPEC Statute during its ministerial conference.

Iranian Oil Minister Javad Oji on Thursday praised ‘favorable’ cooperation and understanding between OPEC+ producers.

Talking to Shana, the minister said, “We are trying to institutionalize cooperation with non-OPEC producers within the framework of OPEC+ alliance.”

Oji, who spoke after the 187th meeting of OPEC Conference and the 36th OPEC and Non-OPEC Ministerial Meeting (ONOMM), said during the meetings the participants clearly stressed the need to preserve the oil market stability and support OPEC+ collective decisions.

The OPEC+ members underlined that the coalition keeps a close watch on global oil markets and the balance between supply and demand, said the minister, adding the alliance also voiced its readiness to make quick decisions and take the necessary measures to stabilize the oil market and cope with its situations.

Shifting to the postponement of OPEC and OPEC+ ministerial meetings caused by differences between their member states, Oji said it is not something new as they have had such differences at some junctures, adding all that matters is that OPEC+ producers reach an agreement and a consensus serving the member states’ interests.

The oil market is experiencing a challenging era, he stated and noted additional supplies by some producers outside of the OPEC+ alliance associated with uncertainties surrounding global economy, the outlook for international markets, speculators’ activities in the oil market, and consequences of mentioned developments are sending out alarm signals.

The agreement and decisions made by OPEC+ and during ministerial meetings have served the OPEC and non-OPEC member states’ common interests, said the minister, pointing out the successful move should continue in the future as it is vital for ensuring the market stability and serving producers’ interests.

The released reports and analyses show considerable uncertainties about global supply and demand, said Oji, adding each could have special impacts on future developments.

Short sellers’ increased activities in the market have fueled concerns and the outlook for the international oil market cannot be anticipated with certainty, the minister stated, continuing, “I cannot agree to any of these speculations, either.”

He said the United States and other big consumers’ worries about the global oil market and energy security have been caused by U.S. policies and acts aimed at putting OPEC+ and its producers under pressure – political pressure on some big oil and gas producers by imposing brutal and unilateral sanctions and escalating geopolitical tensions through making political intervention and supporting war in the West Asia region.

Oji is convinced that the agreement and decisions made by OPEC+ are significant factors in eliminating fluctuations in the oil market, improving global economic conditions, encouraging investment in the oil industry, and guaranteeing energy security.

“We consider the OPEC+ agreement and cooperation between large oil producers as the only option to provide the world with short- and long-term energy security,” he emphasized.

“As I said before, all observers and experts of the oil market acknowledge the constructive achievements of the OPEC+ agreement for the market stability and energy security,” reiterated the minister, underlining that Iran fully supports the agreement and decisions made by OPEC+ as the agreement reached between the alliance’s members and issued in OPEC and non-OPEC producers’ Declaration of Cooperation brings benefits for the global oil market, producers, consumers, and economy.”

The topics of the 187th Meeting of OPEC Conference, he continued, revolved around administrative, financial, and managerial issues that are discussed by member states’ oil and energy ministers biennially.

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Based on secondary sources, Iran produced 3.043 million bpd of crude oil in August.

The Islamic Republic’s average crude output for the third quarter of 2023 stood at 2.990 million bpd indicating a 292,000-bpd increase compared to the figure for the second quarter of the year, the report said.

The report put the average Iranian crude output for 2022 at 2.554 million bpd, while the average output in 2021 was 2.392 million bpd.

These statistics show that although with the re-imposition of the U.S. sanctions, Iran’s oil production decreased; gradually the country has been able to compensate for the output decline and increase production significantly.

Iran now occupies the third place among OPEC members in terms of production, following Saudi Arabia, and Iraq.

The country’s heavy crude oil price also increased by $7.05 in September, to register an 8.0 percent rise compared to the previous month, according to the OPEC report.

Iran sold its heavy crude oil at $94.63 per barrel in the mentioned month, compared to August’s $87.58 per barrel.

The country’s average heavy crude price was $82.37 since the beginning of 2023 up to the report’s publishing date, in comparison to $104.16 in the previous year’s same period.

Last month, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries pumped 27.775 million bpd, up 273,000 bpd from August. Production in August had risen for the first time since February.

The rise in September was led by Nigeria, which has been battling with crude theft and insecurity in its oil-producing region. Iran, which has been boosting supply despite U.S. sanctions, also pumped more, with output hitting the highest level since 2018.

Iraq and the United Arab Emirates increased output slightly, while Angolan supply showed the largest decline in the group of 50,000 bpd due to a drop in exports.

OPEC’s output is still undershooting the targeted amount by about 700,000 bpd, mainly because Nigeria and Angola lack the capacity to pump as much as their agreed level.

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OPEC data showed that Iran’s oil output increased by 143,000 bpd or five percent in August compared to production figures reported in July, Shana reported.

The figures showed that Iran had regained its position as the third largest oil producer in OPEC in August behind Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

Iran posted the largest increase in oil production in OPEC last month, as the country is exempt from output cuts introduced by the alliance to help boost international oil prices.

Iranian heavy oil prices rose to $87.58 per barrel in August from $81.48 reported in July, OPEC data showed.

The figures prove earlier reports suggesting Iranian oil production and exports had reached multi-year record levels in August despite U.S. sanctions that restrict the country’s ability to engage in normal trade of oil products.

Estimates by international energy firms published earlier this month had suggested that Iran’s oil exports were nearly 3.15 million bpd in August as oil exports from the country reached over 2 million bpd.

Private refiners in China accounted for a bulk of oil purchases from Iran last month as shipments rose to an all-time record of 1.5 million bpd.

Iran’s Oil Minister Javad Oji said earlier this month that Iran’s oil production will reach 3.4 million bpd by late September.

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Raisi made the remarks in a meeting with the Secretary-General of OPEC Haitham al-Ghais in Tehran on Saturday.

Considering the constructive interaction of OPEC members with each other as an important factor in the success of this international organization, the Iranian president added that the Islamic Republic of Iran has always had constructive cooperation with this organization and wants to continue and improve the level and strengthen this cooperation.

Stating that the philosophy of forming OPEC is to support the rights of oil producers and prevent discrimination against them, Raisi expressed hope that the OPEC organization will be able to bring peace to the oil market in the new era of its activity.

Haitham al-Ghais, for his part, considered the Islamic Republic of Iran as one of the founding members of the OPEC that has always had useful, effective, and constructive cooperation with this organization and its members.

“Iran, both at the ministerial level and at the technical level, has always acted to strengthen the cohesion and unity of OPEC members,” he stressed.

The OPEC Secretary-General also touched upon the latest situation in the oil market and said, “I hope that with the unity of opinion among OPEC members and benefiting from the support and constructive cooperation of the Islamic Republic of Iran, we will be able to bring peace to the market.”

Al Ghais arrived in Tehran on Friday to hold talks with Iranian officials.

During his stay in Tehran, the OPEC chief was to discuss the global oil market, the outlook of demand and supply, and the upcoming OPEC and OPEC+ meetings.

OPEC appointed Kuwaiti oil executive Haitham Al Ghais as its 24th secretary general on January 3, 2022.

With 30 years of experience in the global oil and gas markets, he represented Kuwait in multiple governing bodies of renowned international institutions, including the Board of Governors of the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies (2008-2014), and the Board of Governors and subcommittees of OPEC (2016-2021).

Al Ghais, who managed international and regional teams in different countries, including Kuwait, Beijing, and London, began his tenure as secretary general of OPEC on August 1, 2022.

Al Ghais replaced Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo of Nigeria, who died at 63, when he was in the final weeks of six-year tenure.

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Iran’s refining capacity has increased by more than 480,000 bpd from 2011 to 2021, according to OPEC’s Annual Statistical Bulletin. Iran’s refining capacity in 2011 was reported to be 1.715 million bpd.

Despite all the external challenges like the coronavirus pandemic and the U.S. sanctions, the Iranian oil and gas sector has been developing at a fast pace and the country is passing new milestones in this industry every day.

Various sectors of Iran’s oil and gas industry including exploration, production, processing, and distribution are all among the world’s top charts and the country is taking new steps to develop the industry even further.

Among different sectors of this industry, refining is a major one being seriously paid attention for development.

Back in September 2021, Oil Minister Javad Oji had said that the country’s oil refining capacity will be increased by 1.5 folds by the end of the current government’s incumbency (in four years).

He mentioned promoting the quantity and quality of the current refineries’ products and the construction of new refineries as some major plans of the Oil Ministry in the new government.

According to the defined schedule for the quantitative and qualitative development of existing refineries and planning for the construction of new refineries in the next four to five years, the country’s daily oil refining capacity will increase by one and a half times to 3.5 million barrels, the minister stated.

“Following the improvement of the quality of petroleum products and the increase of the quality of gasoline and gas oil, which is very important for us in the field of environment, the discussion of quantitative and qualitative development plans of refineries is seriously on the agenda of the current government”, he added.

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Following the increase in oil demand in world markets in the mentioned month, the Iranian heavy crude oil price reached at $74.08 per barrel, compared to August’s $70.34 per barrel.

According to the report, the country’s average heavy crude price was $66.65 from the beginning of 2021 up to the report’s publishing day, in comparison to $39.4 in the previous year’s same period.

The report put Iranian crude output for September at 2.503 million barrels per day (bpd) indicating an 22,000-bpd increase compared to the figure for the previous month.

Based on OPEC data, the country’s average crude output in the third quarter of 2021 stood at 2.493 million bpd indicating a near 50,000-bpd rise compared to the average figure for the year’s second quarter.

OPEC basket prices also rose $3.55 or five percent to reach at $73.88 a barrel in September from the previous month.

Iranian heavy crude oil price had followed an upward trend since the beginning of the current year up to May, then following the increase in the OPEC members’ production oil prices fell during June-August.

In addition to the devastating impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on the global oil industry which resulted in the drastic fall in oil prices, the Iranian oil industry has also been under pressure from the U.S. efforts to isolate the country by re-imposing sanctions.

The country, however, has been ramping up its oil production over the past few months following the recent developments in the White House and also the recovery of the global markets from the negative impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

Earlier in February, Fitch Solutions Incorporation, a subsidiary of Fitch Ratings, which is one of the U.S.’s three biggest credit rating agencies, forecasted a 6.8-percent growth for Iranian oil exports in 2021 if the U.S comes back to the 2015 nuclear deal.

In one of its latest reports dubbed “Iran Oil and Gas Report”, Fitch also saw the Islamic Republic’s crude oil exports double in 2022 compared to 2020.

“The prospects for the Iranian oil sector have brightened significantly following Joe Biden’s victory in the U.S. presidential election on November 3. President Biden has indicated that he will seek to re-enter the U.S. into the Iranian nuclear deal, paving the way for a roll-back of secondary sanctions and recovery of around 2.0 million bpd in oil production,” the report said.

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