Iran is ready to increase its crude oil exports by 500,000 barrels a day, the deputy oil minister said on Sunday, hours after international sanctions on Tehran were lifted, removing an obstacle to exports. The Islamic Republic emerged from years of economic isolation on Saturday when world powers lifted sanctions after confirming that Tehran had curbed its nuclear program.
"With consideration to global market conditions and the surplus that exists, Iran is ready to raise its crude oil exports by 500,000 barrels a day," Deputy Oil Minister Amir Hossein Zamaninia was quoted as saying by the Shana news agency.
Iran's return to an already glutted oil market is one of the factors contributing to a global rout in oil prices, which fell below $30 a barrel this week for the first time in 12 years.