Rosneft sees no oil deficit looming as Iran sanction waivers end

Moscow, April 29 - Neftegaz.RU. According to Oilprice, Russia’s biggest oil producer Rosneft doesn’t expect the end of the U.S. sanction waivers for all Iranian oil buyers to lead to a global supply deficit this quarter and next, Rosneft’s CEO Igor Sechin told Reuters on April 26.

“No, we do not see such threats,” Sechin replied, when asked if the “maximum pressure” on Iran’s oil industry could result in a global oil deficit.

Announcing the end of the waivers, the White House said on Monday: “The U.S., Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, 3 of the world’s great energy producers, along with our friends and allies, are committed to ensuring that global oil markets remain adequately supplied. We have agreed to take timely action to assure that global demand is met as all Iranian oil is removed from the market.”

Speaking to reporters, Rosneft’s Sechin said, as carried by Reuters: “I would attract your attention to Pompeo’s statement: he said, in any case, even by zeroing out the Iranian oil supplies, they would be offset by Saudi Arabia and United Emirates.”

“We have had extensive and productive discussions with Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and other major producers to ease this transition and ensure sufficient supply,” U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said.

Russia, which leads the non-OPEC group of producers in the ongoing OPEC+ pact to cut supply, had signaled a reluctance to continue reducing production after the current deal expires in June, just before the U.S. took the global oil market by surprise announcing the end of all waivers for Iranian customers.

Earlier this year, reports emerged that Sechin, a long time critic of OPEC, had written a letter to Vladimir Putin, arguing that Russia should quit the OPEC+ deal, which, according to Sechin, threatens Russia’s market share while benefitting the United States.


Author: Tsvetana Paraskova