Fujairah Ruler meets delegates

■ His Highness Shaikh Hamad Bin Mohammad Al Sharqi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Fujairah, welcomed yesterday to the Royal Palace a delegation of guests, led by Opec secretary general Mohammad Barkindo.

Barkindo was joined by Ranatunga, and Dr Matar Al Neyadi, Undersecretary in the Ministry of Energy and Industry, along with Martin Fraenkel, President of S&P Global Platts, and Malik Jaffar, Regional Director of Petronas Middle East, according to a statement. they will continue to work with all parties to stabilise oil markets.

“Iran is a founding member of Opec and it is an important member of Opec. It is the third biggest producer in Opec so together we will have to work with all parities not only to confront current challenges that are emerging but also together fashion a way moving forward,” he said.

“Our interest is to make sure that we will continue to be a reliable and dependable supplier of oil to the global market.”

Iranian exports have been falling following a decision by US President Donald Trump to reimpose sanctions on the Islamic year.

According to Dr Sara Vakhshouri, president of SVB Energy International based in Washington DC, oil exports from Iran have already fallen by about 550,000 to 600,000 barrels per day in August when the first round of US sanctions kicked in and the figure is likely to go up to 1.4 to 1.5 million barrels per day this month. Republic

Sri Lanka

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Arjuna Ranatunga, Sri Lankan minister of petroleum, who also attended the forum, said they stopped taking Iranian barrels due to sanctions.

He also said the country is looking to build a new refinery with a capacity of about 110,000 to 125,000 barrels a day to meet the growing oil demand. It will take about four years to finish and they received proposals from Chinese, Korean, Middle East and Singapore firms, said Ranatunga.

“We will build the new refinery and maybe get rid of the old one,” he added.