Iran extends crude oil sales contract with Turkish refinery

TEHRAN,Dec.25 (MNA)--Despite the pressure of western countries to sanction Iran’s oil industry, Turkey's biggest crude oil importer Tupras has renewed its annual deal to buy crude oil from Iran for 2012. Tupras purchased 7.41 million tons of crude oil from Iran in 2010, which makes up for almost 38 percent of the 19.6 million tons of crude it refined in 2010. Currently, Turkey and Greece are among the most reliant on Iranian crude, which makes up more than 30 percent of both countries' total oil imports, according to data from the International Energy Agency (IEA). The Islamic Republic has signed new deal with Turkey to surge oil exports to Turkey from present 150,000 barrels per day to 180,000 bpd, Mohsen Qamsari, director for international affairs in National Iranian Oil Company said in October. In July, Iran has exported 1.3 million tons of its crude oil to Turkey standing as the first oil exporter among the 22 countries from which Turkey buys crude oil, Qamsari said. At present, Iran exports some 450,000 barrels of crude oil to Europe, accounting for 18 percent of total oil exports to the continent. Greece, Italy and Spain are the major European importers of Iranian crude. On November 21, The United States, Britain and Canada announced new measures against Iran's energy and financial sectors, and France proposed new sanctions, including the freezing of Central Bank of Iran assets and suspending the purchase of Iranian oil.