Riyadh: Saudi Arabia does not plan to immediately raise oil output after the United States ends sanction exemptions for buyers of Iranian crude, energy minister Khalid al-Falih said. “(Global) inventories are continuing to rise despite what’s happening in Vene-zuela and tightening sanctions on Iran,” Falih told a finance conference in Riyadh. “So I don’t see the need to do anything immediately.”
Chabahar project
The strategic Chabahar port project, being developed by India in Iran, is a separate exception and will not be impacted by US President Donald Trump’s decision not to renew exemptions that let eight countries including India to buy Iranian oil without facing tough American sanctions, a State Department official said. The Chabahar port, considered a gateway to golden opportunities for trade by India, Iran and Afghanistan with central Asian countries, is located on the Indian Ocean in the Sistan and Baluchistan province of Iran.
The port, which is easily accessible from India’s western coast, is increasingly seen as a counter to Pakistan’s Gwadar Port which is being developed with the Chinese investment. A spokesperson told PTI that the operation of Chabahar Port is a separate exception.
