Eni Mulls Oil Trade With Iran

Italian oil major Eni will look at the Iran sanctions measures to see if it can use Iranian crude to allow it greater flexibility in procuring supplies, a spokesman said.

“Eni is examining the ... provisions to see if the decision allows it to consider the use of Iranian crudes for further flexibility in its crude supply system,” the spokesman said, Reuters reported.

But the company added it would fully respect international community decisions on rules and sanctions in regard to Iran.

The United States on Monday reimposed sanctions targeting Iran’s oil, banking and transport sectors.

However, the US gave temporary exceptions to eight importers - China, India, Greece, Italy, Taiwan, Japan, Turkey and South Korea - allowing them to keep buying from Iran.

Eni said it was not present in Iran and that the overall impact of the waiver granted Italy was marginal for its business.

South Koreans to Visit

A South Korean delegation including oil buyers is expected to head to Iran next week to discuss resuming Iranian oil imports after a three-month halt, three sources with knowledge of the matter said.

South Korea is one of eight countries that received waivers from the United States to continue importing Iranian oil for 180 days.

It can import up to 200,000 barrels per day of Iranian oil, mostly condensate, the sources said, without invoking US economic sanctions re-imposed on Iran on Nov. 5.

The North Asian country was the third-biggest buyer of Iranian oil and also the largest importer of its condensate before it stopped imports in September ahead of the US sanctions.

South Korea’s condensate imports from Iran stood at 159,770 bpd in January-August, down about 49% from 311,885 bpd in the same period last year, according to Reuters calculations based on the Korea National Oil Corp data.

Condensate is an ultra light oil processed at splitters, typically to produce naphtha for petrochemicals.

While the waiver has given South Korea the green light to resume Iranian oil imports, the sources said issues such as payment, shipping and insurance needed to be worked out.

“The actual import volume will depend on next week’s negotiations,” one of the sources said, adding that oil price will be a key factor.

The US sanctions waivers have eased pressure on Iran to further discount its oil against Saudi Arabia’s.

source: Financial Tribune