Iran's deputy oil minister in international affairs and trading said Iran is ready to raise crude oil exports by half a million barrels a day now that the US-engineered sanctions on Tehran's nuclear program have been lifted.
According to Shana, Amir-Hossein Zamani-Nia, who was speaking at a ceremony on Sunday to mark the 60th anniversary of the establishment of National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC), said, "Iran is ready to add 500,000 barrels to its crude oil exports in view of the current oil market conditions."
Lauding NITC as the export arm of the country in the post-sanctions setting, he said, "Iran is happy to have such major assets and fully supports NITC in the international arena."
He said NITC has been successful in the sanctions period in line with the provisions stipulated by the resistance economy.
On the removal of sanctions, he said, "Today is a historic day for the country for which a lot of efforts have been made over the past years."
He said out of a range of Asian, African, Latin American and European customers, China will be the main destination of Iran's crude oil after the removal of sanctions.
"Most of Iran's oil will naturally be shipped to China as it used to be Iran's major customer during the sanctions," Zamani-Nia added.
He did not confirm that India will be Iran's major oil customer following the withdrawal of sanctions. "Iran's customers are unchanged and it is our endeavor that Iran's increased export would have the least possible impact on oil prices," he said.