Turkey Granted Waiver on Iran Oil Sanctions

Turkey has been granted a waiver of around 25 % on US oil sanctions against Iran, Turkish Energy Minister Fatih Donmez said Friday, amounting to around three million tons of oil annually.

Speaking in an interview with broadcaster NTV, Donmez said oil refiner Tupras was looking at alternatives to avoid any market difficulties.

“The 25 % figure is approximate and Ankara has not yet received an exact figure,” he said, as quoted by Reuters.

He also said Turkey still had a contract to buy natural gas from Iran for five to six years and added that Ankara would continue to buy gas from Tehran.

Washington has pledged to eventually halt all purchases of crude oil from Iran globally but for now it said eight countries —China, India, South Korea, Japan, Italy, Greece, Taiwan and Turkey — can continue imports without penalty for at least another six months. Crude exports account for one-third of Iran’s government revenues.

Positive Impact

The new US sanctions against Iran can have positive consequences for Turkey, an Iranian diplomat told state-run Anadolu Agency.

“This is the best opportunity for Turkish companies to increase their presence in Iran. They can use this benefit to conquer the part of the market that was acquired by European and Chinese companies, “Seyed Hafez Mousavi, the commercial counselor at the Iranian Embassy in Ankara, said.

Mousavi asserted that Turkey and Iran can expand cooperation in sectors such as tourism and investment.

In 2017, bilateral trade volume between Turkey and Iran totaled $10.7 billion, up nearly 11% year-on-year.

In the first nine months of 2018 the trade volume was $7.5 billion.

On trade in national currencies with Turkey, Russia and China, he said the issue is on Iran’s agenda.

“We had good negotiations on this issue. They expressed their readiness to use national currency to work with Iranian companies,” he added.

Mousavi said using the Turkish lira instead of US dollars would also be welcomed by Iranian companies.

“Turkey is our main partner and neighbor, we prefer to use the lira instead of the dollar,” he said.

source: Financial Tribune