Iran's energy sector review

Iran was allowed in November 2016 to increase its oil output by 90,000 barrels per day (b/d) in 1H2017 to 3.797 mb/d, based on OPEC’s oil cut deal. Other OPEC members had to decrease output by 4 percent to 1.2 mb/d, compared to October output, while Libya and Nigeria were exempted from cut. Oil price in 1Q2017 increased by 56 percent, compared to the same period last year as the OPEC compliance was 82 percent, 94 percent and 95 percent in three months of current year and the compliance of eleven Non-OPEC producers to cut 558,000 b/d was about 60 percent. The Cartel members are preparing to hold a meeting in May to discuss the extension of the OPEC deal for 2H2017. Kuwaiti Oil Minister Issam Almarzooq said on Apr.19 that Iran will probably be allowed to keep its oil production unchanged if OPEC decides to extend its six-month agreement on output cuts beyond June, Bloomberg reported earlier. According to an official document, prepared by Iran’s Oil Ministry and seen by Trend,

Iranian petrochemical plants produced 50.61 million metric tons (mn mt) of petrochemical products during last fiscal year that ended March 20. According to an official document prepared by the National Petrochemical Company (NPC) and seen by Trend Apr. 18, Iran’s actual petrochemical production level was 82 percent of the total nominal capacity. In other words, the country’s plants worked at 82 percent capacity during last fiscal year. Statistics in the document indicate that 96 percent of the planned production was realized. About 17 of Iran’s total 52 petrochemical plants worked at above 100 percent projected production level, including Nouri, Urmia, Tabriz, Qaed Basir, Mehr, Bisstoon, Carbon Iran and Shiraz, which worked at up to 110 percent projected output level. Iran’s petrochemical sector is one the country’s rapidly growing industrial sectors, which experienced a 7 percent growth in nominal capacity during last fiscal year. Iran’s actual production level during the pre