Iran Eyes Exporting Oil Products to African Countries: Deputy Oil Minister

The Iranian deputy oil minister for international affairs said that the Oil Ministry has planned for having a strong presence at the African and Latin American markets by exporting its oil products.

Ahmad Assadzadeh made the remarks on Monday and put the total annual import value of oil products by African countries at US$100 billion.

If just 10% of this lucrative market is allocated to Iran, the country would export US$10 billion worth of oil products to African states, he underlined.

Turning to the measures taken by the Oil Ministry for having a presence in the African and Latin American markets, he said that African countries enjoy a high capacity for bolstering cooperation in the energy field.

Assadzadeh put the oil refining capacity of Africa at about 3 to 4 million barrels per day, half of which is inactive, adding that suitable ways have been paved for Iran to export technical and engineering services to these countries.

Iran exported between US$600 and US$800 million worth of products to these African countries in the past few years, he said, adding, “With the effective measures taken in this regard, the value of Iran’s trade with this continent has surpassed US$1 billion in recent years, showing a considerable hike.” - Tasnim