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Iran vetting oil customers

Not enough in foreign coffers for Iran's oil, minister says.

By Daniel J. Graeber

TEHRAN, Aug. 28 (UPI) -- Countries willing to buy oil from Iran usually don't have enough money in their federal energy coffers to buy it, the Iranian oil minister said.

Iran can sell about 1 million barrels of oil per day on the international market under the terms of an agreement reached with Western powers in exchange for a commitment to curb nuclear research activity.

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Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said a five-member group vetting future oil contracts is "precise" when determining export destinations.

"Many countries are willing to buy Iran's oil, but when studies are made, we find out that there is not even $1 million in their accounts, not to mention enough money to pay for an oil cargo," he said Wednesday.

Zanganeh said the country aims to more than double its crude oil production from 2.5 million barrels per day to 5.7 million bpd within the next three years. Oil sales for the first four months of the year were up 5 percent when compared with last year, the government said.

Iranian exports in 2011 were listed at around 2.2 million bpd.

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