TEHRAN, Aug 15 (AFP) - Iran is benefitting from the current increasing oil prices in the short term, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said on Sunday.
"Given the increased revenues from crude exports, hiking oil prices will be to the benefit of Iran," Zanganeh told the oil ministry's news agency Shana.
"The higher the oil price, the more profitable oil industry development projects," he added.
Zanganeh said "political tensions" were the main reason for skyrocketing prices on the world oil markets.
"Market factors under the current conditions have not played any role in pushing prices higher and political crisis and tensions have kept prices high," he told Shana.
He echoed Iran's envoy to the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Hossein Kazempour Ardebili, who said Saturday there is no reason for OPEC to raise production to bring prices down.
"Currently, there are over 2.8 million barrels of oil (per day) as surplus supply in the world's stockpiles, therefore there is no reason to supply more oil, even if feasible," Kazempour told Shana.
But he added, "Obviously, oil prices will have an upward trend regardless of the fundamental factors of the market, namely supply and demand."
Kazempour said: "OPEC cannot do anything about the current situation, because the situation has nothing to do with OPEC, and the more OPEC members produce oil, the higher the global stockpiles will become."
He attributed the record prices to political and military events, concerns over future oil supplies and OPEC's inability to pump more oil than current levels.
Iran is currently the second-largest producer in the 11-member oil cartel.
Oil prices broke the 46 dollar per barrel mark Friday in New York amid fears over wartorn Iraq's ability to maintain exports, political crisis in Venezuela and legal threats hanging over giant Russian oil company Yukos.