Iran: We're Going to Produce Way More Oil

Even if it means tanking global crude prices
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 4, 2013 10:16 AM CST
Iran: We're Going to Produce Way More Oil
Iran's Minister of Petroleum Bijan Namdar Zangeneh talks ro journalists as he arrives at a hotel in Vienna, Austria, on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2013.   (AP Photo/Hans Punz)

Following an initial nuclear deal between Tehran and the West, Iran is planning to ramp up its oil production, its oil minister says. "We will produce 4 million even if the price drops to $20," says Bijan Namdar Zanganeh. That's about a sixth of the current price, and it would leave production costs far higher than revenue, the AP notes. Saudi Arabia, which produces about a third of OPEC's supply, doesn't plan to reduce production for Iran's benefit, and OPEC doesn't look likely to raise its 30-million-barrel daily production limit, Arab News notes.

Still, the Saudi oil minister doesn't appear worried about any potential export crisis. "I hope Iran comes back (and) produces all it can," he says, per the AP. But the nuclear deal itself may face a challenge, with Republican lawmakers on the attack; some Democrats, including Charles Schumer, have also expressed doubts.

  • "The overwhelming sentiment (among House Republicans is) this was an agreement that was foolish, dangerous, and that we need to do something and push forward," says Rep. Tom Reed. The House could push the Senate for new Iran sanctions, or it could pass a resolution officially expressing disapproval, the Hill reports.
  • The public apparently feels differently. A poll shows that a plurality of Americans who know at least "a little" about the agreement—some 34%—back it. That's compared to 22% who are against it, and 41% who either don't have an opinion or know too little to give one, Politico reports.
(More Iran stories.)

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