Iran

US anti-Iran sanctions hurt West refineries

A noteworthy columnist says the US-engineered sanctions against Iran’s oil and financial sector is “a lose-lose situation for refinery owners and for [refinery] companies”.

Press TV has conducted an interview with Nader Mokhtari, columnist and commentator, to further discuss the issue.

The following is a transcription of the interview.

Press TV: The US says there’s going to be a global fuel shortage if there is no Iranian oil available. At the same time they are discussing Iran oil sanctions. It’s very much like they are shooting themselves in the foot, isn’t it?

Mokhtari: Well, they have shot themselves in the foot already. The decision to sanction Iranian oil at this stage, at any stage from now on is just ludicrous. The fact is that the global demand has gone up despite introduction of other forms of energy and there isn’t that much fossil fuels about to answer the demands. So, there is going to be a shortfall without Iran’s oil.

I’ve said this before, the fact is that a large part of Iranian oil that’s going overseas is light sweet crude, and many, many refineries around the world are gauged to work with that particular type of oil.

Now, if they introduce heavy crude, which is high in sulfur, it not only costs twice as much to refine, whole refineries will have to be gauged to run on that oil.

In the meantime, other countries can come in and supply petrochemicals to the world market. So it’s a lose-lose situation for refinery owners or for companies that oversee their refineries, so this effect.

The whole thing just smacks of AIPAC meddling and smacks of another bid like they said in the US, the second hand car salesman who they claimed was a terrorist and was going to kill people, etc. That fell flat and turned out to be a complete sham. This is turning out to be another sham from a very desperate Washington.

Press TV: Mr. Mokhtari, it also seems like OPEC countries that the US and the EU had hoped that would make up for Iranian oil have not lived up to their expectations they’ve made; to mention some, that would be Saudi Arabia that had pledged to make up for the shortage of Iranian fuel. What about your thoughts on that issue?

Mokhtari: Well, it was quite clear to OPEC to everybody in the know around the world working in the energy market, Saudi Arabia simply does not have the capacity. It is going to cost Saudi Arabia billions and plenty of time, at least a year, to be able to get its capacity to the levels that it can answer for a shortfall because Iranian oil is in there.

And supposing Saudi Arabia does do all that and manages to finish their project in a year’s time, Saudi only has heavy crude which is high in sulfates – a tar-like oil.

And that would mean oil refineries that used to receive oil from Iran would then have to switch. It’s going to take them about three months to make the switch and the end product is going to be more expensive. So it’s not really practical.

I think the people in Washington, AIPAC, whoever’s brain child this is, they must really come off it and stop flogging a dead horse and start talking realistically about opening the line of negotiations with Iran, and take it from there.

Those days are finished where they could press countries like that. They’re gone. The planet has seven billion people worth of populations, and it just doesn’t have the resources to cope without a major producer like Iran.

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