In an interview with “Iran Petroleum,” he said Iran can export up to 600,000 b/d of oil to Europe if sanctions are lifted. Majedi, who had served as Iran’s ambassador to Japan and Germany, also touched on investment in renewable energies, saying Iran had untapped potential for that purpose.
The following is the full text of the interview Majedi gave to “Iran Petroleum”:
How do you see the prospect of Iran’s cooperation with Europe in the energy sector? Now that Russian gas exports to Europe has been cut, can we become an alternative for oil, gas, and petrochemical exports to the Green Continent?
Europe needs our petrochemicals, as in line with its plans for using clean energies like hydrogen, wind, and sun, it needs fossil energies. Although welcoming renewables may not be good news for us and other countries that have oil and gas, the world is moving towards renewable energies. France and Germany, like fellow EU members, are going in the same direction. Should we manage to overcome ongoing problems between Iran and EU states, Europe could be a lucrative market for oil products and petrochemicals. We can have reliable customers for this market for another decade. If we return to the decade preceding the imposition of sanctions, we would see that Europe was among our oil buyers, although we have traditional oil customers in Southeast Asia. There was a time when Europe was buying 600,000 b/d of oil from us. Therefore, if sanctions are lifted, we can resume crude oil exports to Europe. But gas has a different story. No new investment has been made in the gas sector, and we cannot make a good recovery from our fields. However, we can invest in gas fields in partnership with European companies.
Do your ties with Russia affect Iran’s presence in Europe’s oil market?
Its impact on the oil market is not significant because we used to export 20-25% of our oil to European countries. We had no competing interests with Russia in this regard. But when it comes to gas, Russia is our rival. If one day we decide to resume energy exports due to the US sanctions lift, we can cooperate with TotalEnergies, Sell, Eni, and even German firms in the development of oil fields and recovery. German companies are not as powerful as other European companies like France’s TotalEnergies, Italy’s Sarace, Greece’s Hellenic Petroleum, Russia’s Lukoil, Spain’s Cepsa, and Italy’s Eni. However, they were extracting 50,000 to 100,000 b/d of oil from Iran. But due to the problems with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), they failed to realize their objectives. To achieve the same status, we have first to take steps for the lifting of sanctions, after which we can seek foreign investment in both the oil and gas sectors. Then, we can pin hope on exports. You should also keep in mind that Germany is a leading state in renewables. German firms are knowledgeable in the renewable energy sector, and they can share it with Iran. Under the JCPOA, German experts were supposed to share their technical know-how with us. That is why they inaugurated Iran’s largest solar power plant in Kerman.
What about petrochemical exports?
As far as petrochemical export is concerned, there is a significant market in Europe. However, due to sanctions, we are yet to find a foothold in these markets. Had the US not quit the JCPOA, we would have had good conditions for selling our petrochemicals because we’re not under UN sanctions. Therefore, if our oil, gas, and petrochemical sales are back to pre-JCPOA levels, we can export up to 600,000 b/d of oil to Europe. Regarding petrochemical exports, I believe that there are European buyers for Iranian products. If sanctions are lifted, there would be a good market for investment in this sector, while Iran would be able to sell its products to Europe.
As investment is rising in renewables, how can Iran be active in this sector?
The share of clean energy in the EU will increase significantly over the next two to three decades. Germany aims to meet around 50 percent of its energy needs from clean energy between 2030 and 2035. Therefore, it is foreseeable that the consumption of fossil fuels will decrease worldwide due to the pollution they cause. Although this process will be different in the United States with Trump taking office, European countries have tried to shift their plans towards the use of new and clean energies through the measures they are taking. The above process may speed up or slow down slightly as some governments come to power in European countries, but this is the path that European countries are seeking to take to take a step towards reducing the use of GHG, global warming, and climate change that we are already witnessing. Although we can have an active presence in the renewable energy market, we must first find a way to attract foreign investment to tap our current oil and gas reserves. The world is moving towards the use of clean energy, and perhaps in the coming decades, a small number of countries will be demanding hydrocarbon energy. There is great potential for solar energy production. While moving towards the use of renewable energy, we must provide the basis for attracting investment and developing our oil and gas fields in the country. These two can complement each other. Iran’s abundant panacea in having a lot of sunshine and our country’s pristine and untouched oil and gas fields can be absorbed in the European market. To attract foreign investment or foreign exchange earnings, certain conditions are also required. We must carry out our calculations in such a way that we can attract foreign investment by selling different forms of energy and using them to modernize and rebuild energy facilities.
Ameneh Mousavi
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