Iran Oil, Petrochemical Exports Up After Geneva Deal: IEA

Tehran, March 17, IRNA - Global imports of Iranian oil hit a one-year high in January and February, the International Energy Agency has recently announced in its report, noting that the surge resulted from the interim deal made between Iran and Group 5+1 last November. Imports of Iranian crude, including condensate, reached 1.41 million barrels per day (bpd) in January and February, the IEA said in a monthly report on Friday (March 14). The IEA revised up Januaryˈs figure by 90,000 bpd. It said the Iran-G5+1 temporary deal which led to easing of some of the Westsˈ sanctions on Tehran, has helped the countryˈs oil sales recover. ˈHigher Iranian imports in recent months reflect, in large part, increased sales of condensates to Asian buyers,ˈ the Paris-based agency said. ˈImports of Iranian oil surged in Japan and South Korea.ˈ Preliminary data from Korea Customs Service also showed on Friday that South Korea imported about 8.2 million barrels of crude from Iran in February, more than doubling the amount from a year earlier. The rise in shipments follows a six-month interim deal Iran and world powers implemented on January 20 in which Iran agreed to curb on its nuclear program in return for access to more than $4 billion in oil revenues that had been frozen in foreign accounts. That has improved sentiment and reduced uncertainty for buyers, oil traders and industry sources. Iranˈs six global oil buyers, including its top purchasers - China, India, Japan, and South Korea- are expected to hold combined purchases of the petroleum to an average of 1 million bpd over the course of the deal. Referring to the tough sanctions imposed on Tehran by Washington targeting the formerˈs oil exports in 2012, the IEA quoted ˈbackers of tough sanctionsˈ as saying that data showed Iran was getting more relief than Washington had said it would under the six-month deal. There are widespread expectations that the six-month deal will be extended for another six months, which adds incentives for the importers to increase their purchases in hopes of boosting the 1 million bpd baseline in the next round, said Bob McNally, president of Rapidan Group, an energy consultancy, who served as a top energy adviser to former US President George W. Bush. Turkey increased its imports from Iran last month and shipments to Syria rose slightly, the IEA said. Chinaˈs imports will probably be revised up as the IEA said three very large crude carriers (VLCCs) were anchored off the Chinese coast and oil was sent to Batam Island, used as a transfer point for shipments to China. Meanwhile, Reuters reported on February 26 that the Iranian exports rose last month to at least 1.3 million bpd. Additionally, Mark Wallace, chief executive officer of a US-based anti-Iran Zionist group, expressed concern in a recent statement over Iranˈs increasingly growing crude exports. Wallace is the CEO of the ˈUnited Against Nuclear Iranˈ that seeks ˈto prevent Iran from fulfilling its ambition to become a regional super-power.ˈ In his statement, Wallace urged President Barack Obama to prevent Iran from increasing its oil exports. He complained that Iranˈs oil exports have shown a 85 percent growth since October 2013, adding that Iranˈs economy was already benefiting from the sanctions relief. ˈThe Obama administration has stated that sanctions relief would only amount to $6 billion to $7 billion, however the increase in oil sales alone has already been worth over $4 billion in new revenueˈ for the country, he said. Wallace also expressed concern that ˈif Iranˈs oil exports remain constant from now until July, the regime will have gained more than $14 billion in additional revenue post-Geneva, not including the various other economic benefits from sanctions-easing related to areas such as the petrochemicals, automotive and precious metals sectors.ˈ Following the Geneva deal, US has excluded some 14 petrochemical companies from its blacklist making it possible for those companies to have easy access to Iranˈs petrochemical products. Deputy Managing Director of the National Iranian Petrochemical Industries Company Mohsen Peyvandi has recently said Iranˈs petrochemical exports to Asian markets have increased in the past few months. He added that Tehran was also in contact with European companies and is to invite them to attend an international conference to be held on petrochemical products in June 2014. Peyvandi said after crude exports, petrochemical products are Iranˈs second major source of income./end