Minister: Presidency of OPEC indicates Iran's might

Tehran, Oct 17, IRNA – Oil Minister Seyed Masoud Mir-Kazemi said here on Saturday that election of Iran, after 36 years, as chairman of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) indicated Iran’s might and dignity.

On the sidelines of a ceremony in which President Ahmadinejad appreciated efforts of experts in producing gasoline, Mir-Kazemi told reporters that, in the past 36 years, the chairmanship of the OPEC was not ceded to Iran, But today there is a general concensus on Iran’s presidency on the organization.

He added that the most important reasons for not ceding the chairmanship to Iran were political issues as well as country’s situation, especially during the sacred war and years after that.

Developments in Iran’s Oil Ministry and in international circles and country’s ability and flexibility in being self-sufficient in producing gasoline were among reasons to elect Iran as chairman of the OPEC, said Mir-Kazemi.

Referring to the needs of some regional countries to gasoline, Mir-Kazemi noted that initiation of gasoline trade through Iran by re-exporting it on the sidelines of exporting domestic produced gasoline is on the agenda of Oil Ministry./end