“The country’s oil industry has attained self-sufficiency in procuring equipment and facilities [required] for exploration and extraction of oil products,” Qasemi said on Monday.
The minister added that Iranian academics, scientists and oil industry officials have transformed anti-Iran sanctions into opportunities.
“Had the enemy not imposed economic sanctions on the country during the Islamic Revolution’s three-decade life, we would not have reached self-sufficiency in domestic manufacturing,” Qasemi said.
The minister added that high-quality gasoline and other oil products are being produced and distributed in the country.
On January 13, Managing-Director of the National Petrochemical Company (NPC) Abdolhossein Bayat said Iranian experts have mastered the technological know-how and achieved the licensing required to manufacture 38 petrochemical products.
At the beginning of 2012, the United States and the European Union imposed new sanctions on Iran’s oil and financial sectors with the goal of preventing other countries from purchasing Iranian oil and conducting transactions with the Central Bank of Iran.
The sanctions came into force in early summer 2012.
On October 15, 2012, the EU foreign ministers reached an agreement on another round of sanctions against Iran.
The illegal US-engineered sanctions have been imposed based on the unfounded accusation that Iran is pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program.
Iran rejects the allegation, arguing that as a committed signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency, it has the right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.
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