Tehran (Platts)--22Oct2013/726 am EDT/1126 GMT

Iran could consider offering crude price discounts in the future to regain its former markets, a senior Iranian oil official said Tuesday, quoted by oil ministry news service Shana.

"Basically, Iran doesn't have any obligation to give discounts for selling crude oil because our existing oil customers at the moment can make their purchases in accordance with international laws without any worry," Mohsen Ghamsari, NIOC's international affairs director, said.

"Iran's oil price can easily compete with the neighboring oil producers," he continued.

"But as the oil minister [Bijan Zanganeh] has announced before, if the international circumstances become normal, in order to gain back our traditional markets, if necessary,

OPEC producer Iran has lost considerable market share as a result of international sanctions aimed at persuading Iran to stop its uranium enrichment work. The sanctions, in particular those imposed separately by the United States and European Union in late June and early July last year, have slashed Iran's crude exports to around 1 million b/d from pre-sanctions levels of 2.2-2.3 million b/d.

Tehran, having opened new rounds of talks with the West on the nuclear issue, hopes to see the sanctions removed in the next few months and win back its market share.

Ghamsari, who is in charge of Iran's crude trade, said oil supply in the market currently exceeded demand.

"Considering the global recession, the relation between demand and supply is not in a good condition, and I think, based on global factors, the oil price should naturally decrease, but because of brokers in the market and the stock market prices are not falling," he said.

"Another reason for the oil price not falling, despite high supply in the market, is the high cost of production from some oil fields in the hands of big world powers because they want to keep production in these fields profitable," he added.

Ghamsari said Iran's eventual recovery of its market share would push prices down.

"It is natural that after Iran's oil moves into the global markets again, under the current conditions, a decrease in the oil price can be seen. At the moment, based on the existing statistics, oil demand is 30% lower than the normal status," he said.

"Obviously, all oil sellers want oil price to go up, but if we think realistically high oil prices will not benefit the producers much in the long run," he said.

North Sea Brent crude futures traded at $110.09/barrel at 1038 GMT.

--Aresu Eqbali, newsdesk@platts.com

--Margaret McQuaile, margaret.mcquaile@platts.com

--Edited by Alisdair Bowles, alisdair.bowles@platts.com

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