The FINANCIAL — Iran's foreign ministry warned yesterday that the global price of crude oil would more than double if sanctions were imposed to block oil exports from the country, according to gulfnews.
Ramin Mehmanparast, spokesperson for the Iranian foreign ministry, told the local newspaper Sharq: "As soon as such an issue is raised seriously the oil price would soar to above $250 a barrel."
But oil analysts told Gulf News last night that Iran's predictions seemed exaggerated.Tensions were also heightened following the recent storming of the UK Embassy in Tehran.
The US Senate voted on Thursday to penalise foreign financial institutions that do business with Iran's central bank.
The European Union is also considering a ban on oil imports from Iran, but is concerned about the implications.
Mills believes that the likelihood of Iran's oil export industry being stopped completely is highly unlikely.Iran is the second-largest oil producer in the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries after Saudi Arabia.
The country's oil exports earned it $56 billion in the first seven months of this year, according to the US Energy Department. The top refiners came from China, Japan, India, Italy and South Korea.
The country is also the sixth-biggest source of EU oil imports, accounting for around 5.7 per cent of total imports from outside the EU in 2010.
Many European oil companies purchased Iranian crude oil in 2010, including Shell, BP, Total and Eni.
Discussion about this post