Tehran (Platts)--19Sep2012/456 am EDT/856 GMT

Iran's oil minister Rostam Ghasemi warned on Wednesday that the absence of Iranian crude in the market will push up prices, the oil ministry's news service Shana reported.

Balance of price in the global market depends on Iran's oil supply, Shana quoted Ghasemi as saying.

Sanctions imposed by the US and the EU have not created a serious problem for Iran's oil industry because the country has its regular customers who continue to buy its crude, the minister added.

Iran cannot export crude oil to the EU in the wake of an import embargo implemented by Brussels on July 1. It is also subject of US financial sanctions aimed at persuading Tehran's Asian customers to reduce their intake of Iranian oil. The country's exports have also been hampered by an EU ban on insurers providing cover for shipments of Iranian crude regardless of the destination.

Talking about the possibility of crude prices rising to $150/barrel, Ghasemi said: "We believe that oil price in the global markets is still unrealistic and its increase depends on future developments in the oil market."

Reiterating what he said earlier this month, Ghasemi added that taking into account current market conditions, world oil prices could rise further as winter demand kicks in later in the year.

--Aresu Eqbali, newsdesk@platts.com

--Edited by E Shailaja Nair, shailaja_nair@platts.com

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