Non-oil exports offer Iran sanctions relief

Iran exported nearly $25 billion worth of gas condensates and petrochemical products in the first 10 months to January, providing a cushion against drop in oil revenues. 

Sales of gas condensates rose 41% year-on-year to $12.1 billion, Government spokesman Mohammad Baqer Nobakht said.

Petrochemical exports over the period rose 39% to $12.8 billion, he added.

Nobakht said the figures were announced during a session of the Supreme Council of Non-Oil Exports “which are remarkable given 36 years of economic sanctions on Iran”.

Iran has seen its oil revenues dwindle under US-led sanctions. The country is also trying to take oil price slumps in its stride.

Economists say one immediate recipe is for the country to diversify earnings.

Abundant gas reverses are seen as a secure alternative to wean the country from reliance on oil.

On Wednesday, Minister of Petroleum Bijan Namdar Zangeneh said Iran is building eight gas condensate refineries.

The Siraf Refining Park is being touted as the country’s largest gas complex, which is built in Bushehr in southern Iran.

Zangeneh said each unit is estimated to use up $300 million to complete within the next three years.

Iran has the world’s second largest gas reserves after Russia. With Russia’s relations becoming increasingly muddled with the Europeans over the crisis in Ukraine, the EU is keeping the prospect of natural gas imports from Iran in the back of its mind.

But an official says Iran’s immediate priority for now is the Persian Gulf market.

“Persian Gulf markets such as those in Oman, Kuwait, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Iraq are closer to Iran. We need a 200-kilometer pipeline to reach them and ship gas in a shorter time,” Managing Director of National Iranian Gas Exports Company Ali-Reza Kameli said.

According to the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration, non-oil exports totaled $42.5 billion in the first ten months of the fiscal year.

Officials say the country stands to gain $61 billion from non-oil exports next year.

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