Whether the Iranian leadership thinks that new U.S. President Joe Biden is set to go easier on the Islamic Republic or on China is unclear as yet but whichever it is, Tehran is pushing to increase oil output from all available fields in the coming 12 months. The focus of these efforts remains on the oil-packed West Karoun region , the recoverable reserves of which increase by 670 million barrels for every one per cent that the rate of recovery from the area. At an average Brent oil price of US$50 per barrel this increase in recoverable reserves equates to just over US$33 billion in additional revenues for Iran. However, so confident is Iran of China’s appetite to buy all of the oil that Tehran wants to send it – for reasons connected to the game-changing 25-year deal between the two countries – that it is not just pushing […]