Iran looking to long-term oil purchase contracts with European clients

Iran is currently working on a plan that guarantees long-term crude oil purchases by its European clients in a post-sanctions era.

The director for international affairs of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), Mohsen Qamsari, said that the plan envisages moving from sport contracts toward long-term agreements.

Qamsari also said that the country’s current oil sales to Europe are carried out through both schemes. He emphasized that long-term agreements secure stable sales of oil thus better protecting the interests of the country in terms of national revenues.

Companies from Italy, Spain, Greece, France and Britain sealed deals to purchase crude oil from Iran after the sanctions against the country were removed in January.

The sanctions limited Iran’s oil exports to around 1 million barrels per day (mbp/d), which severely undermined the country’s presence in global oil markets. However, Iran has been able to make significant achievements in its efforts to regain the share of the market it lost as a result of multiple-year sanctions.

The country is exporting over 2 mbp/d now. According to figures, a majority of the exports are made to the country’s Asian clients that come from India, South Korea, Japan, and China.

Iranian officials have been quoted in a report last month as saying that the country’s exports of oil to Europe have reached 0.4 mbp/d and that the exports to European clients will rise to as high as 0.7 mbp/d within the next months.