Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Zangeneh said oil was discovered in the country's southwestern Abadan region for the first time, local media reported Wednesday.
According to the story of Shana, the Oil Ministry's news outlet, Zangeneh said the oil was found at a depth of 3,770 meters in an exploratory well and is "very light and sweet". "This is the first time we've reached oil in the Abadan region," the minister said, adding more exploration activities were going on on the Minou Island where the oil was discovered.
Shana said Zangeneh declined to give details about Iran's current oil production and export volume due to the ongoing U.S. sanctions against the country.
Asked whether U.S. waivers granted to a number of Iran's oil buyers would continue, the official said: "We shall wait."
A total of eight countries including Japan, China, India, Greece, Italy, Taiwan, Turkey and South Korea were granted exemptions by the U.S. in November 2018, letting them continue to buy Iranian oil on a temporary basis, after Washington reimposed sanctions on Iran's energy, banking and shipping industries.
Last May, U.S. President Donald Trump announced the country's withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal between world powers and Iran, and the re-imposition of sanctions against the country. Following the U.S. pullout from the agreement -- formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) --, the first phase of sanctions against Iran hit the automotive, banking, and mining sectors in August.
The second phase of sanctions, targeting the country's energy sector, shipbuilding, shipping and financial sectors, came into effect on Nov 5.
According to a Monday report by Iran's state-run news agency IRNA, Central Bank Governor Abdol Naser Hemmati wrote on his Instagram page on Sunday that after China, South Korea, India and Turkey, Japan also resumed the process of importing Iranian oil. India, South Korea and Japan are the three major customers of Iranian crude oil in Asia.
(Anadolu Agency)
