WORLD
Iran, Greece deal oil sale
Baku, March 17 AZERTAC
NIOC and Hellenic Petroleum S.A. of Greece have inked an agreement to resume oil sales to the European country.
Following the signing of oil contracts with Russian, French and Spanish companies, National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) has reached an agreement with the Greek Hellenic Petroleum S.A. company on the sales of Iranian crude.
According to MEHR news, Mehdi Asali, the General Director of OPEC Affairs in Iran's Oil Ministry, said in a report “being the largest Greek oil company, Hellenic Petroleum remains a traditional costumer of Iranian crude and the first oil shipment will be delivered at the Greek company by the end of March, 2016.”
Deputy Oil Minister for International & Commercial Affairs Amir Hossein Zamaninia had said earlier that Greece will soon settle its debt to Iran within the framework of an MoU; “during my recent visit to Greece, a preliminary agreement was reached for paying off debts of Hellenic Petroleum as well as for oil purchases from Iran," he commented.
In the years 2010 to 2012, Greece had paid about 5 to 6 billion dollars for the purchase of Iranian oil, but the halt in imports from Iran due to international sanctions as well as the stoppage in Libya’s oil production in the same period, had forced Greek companies to increase oil purchase from Russia and Kazakhstan.