Iran's oil exports steady despite sanctions – Iran OPEC Governor

Iran’s OPEC Governor Mohammad-Ali Khatibi has said the oil exports of Iran have remained steady in recent months despite sanctions. The International Energy Agency (IEA) had earlier said in a report that Iran's oil exports fell to 860,000 barrels per day (bpd) in September. The figure was 2.2 million bpd in December 2011.

Dismissing the IEA report, Khatibi said Iran's oil exports are the same as previous months and the situation is stable.  Khatibi denied that Iran's oil buyers are limited to few countries. Khatibi, who is also the director of the National Iranian Oil Company, said Iran's oil exports are at their normal level and are unaffected by Western embargoes.

The UN Security Council imposed four rounds of sanctions on Iran between 2006 and 2010 over its refusal to halt its nuclear enrichment program, which Western countries suspect could be used to develop nuclear weapons. The U.S and European Union have imposed and expanded sanctions of their own over the years despite Tehran's insistence on the peaceful nature of its nuclear program.

The EU imposed an oil embargo on Tehran on July 1, and is mulling over another round of sanctions on Iran's natural gas exports to the block.