Iran's President urges reduction in crude exports

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad speaks to lawmakers at the Iranian parliament in Tehran August 30, 2009.

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran should further develop its oil downstream sector and reduce crude exports, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told parliament on Sunday as he presented his proposed new cabinet to lawmakers.

He stressed the oil sector should benefit Iran's entire economy and contribute to job creation, saying it must "be once again nationalised and serve the whole industry of the country," in comments translated by English-language state Press TV.

"Till today the main strategy was to economically utilising this industry for obtaining the government's budget. We should change this approach," he told parliament.

He did not elaborate on his nationalisation comment, but appeared to refer to the need to spread the benefits of the oil sector, which is already dominated by the state, to the wider society. He has made similar comments before.

Iran, the world's fifth-largest oil exporter, has also in the past said it should develop its refinery sector.

"We should reduce our oil exports and we should actually further develop our downstream industries ... in order to make use of the value added of the industry in the country," Ahmadinejad said.

In a surprise move, Ahmadinejad earlier this month nominated current Commerce Minister Massoud Mirkazemi as new oil minister to replace Gholamhossein Nozari.

Mirkazemi, an industrial engineer, has little known experience of the oil industry but is seen as an Ahmadinejad ally. Ahmadinejad hailed Mirkazemi as a "pure and committed person" who had been a successful manager and commerce minister.