U.S. sanctions on Iran’s oil industry are unproductive and there will be consequences to such a move, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak told CNBC.
“Our position remains that this is unproductive, this is wrong,” Novak said after he was asked about the possible impact U.S. sanctions on Iran’s oil industry could have.
“It is better to continue working in the market, Iran being just another exporter that provides stable supplies to the market,” Novak said, speaking to CNBC’s Geoff Cutmore at the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) last week in Vladivostok, Russia.
Novak also said that Iran is one of the richest in resources and has a solid standing in terms of its energy capability both in the OPEC, and in the energy markets as a whole.
“So, I think there will be consequences, I am sure, but we could only comment once they are in place,” he added.
The new sanctions are set to be re-imposed on Iran’s oil industry on November 4 and they are the product of Trump’s withdrawal from the international nuclear agreement in May. The U.S. also threatened to impose secondary sanctions on any countries or companies that would conduct any trade with Iran.
This move will for sure severely damage Iran’s oil industry and export, with production decline of over a million barrels a day.
“We do not know how companies will react, how countries that engage with Iran will react. We will have to see the actual adopted documents/sanctions,” he said.
Be the first to comment