Iran still negotiating oil swap with Kazakhstan, Russia

By  Trend

Iran is negotiating with Russia and Kazakhstan to resume crude oil swap, Gholamreza Manouchehri, deputy director for development and engineering affairs at the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), said.

Talks are underway with Kazakh firms and government as well as Russia in this regard, Manouchehri said, ISNA news agency reported Jan. 14.

He further said that grounds are prepared for resuming crude oil swap with Caspian states, adding that it is not clear when the talks would be concluded.

Last year Iran announced that will start crude oil swap with Caspian states within weeks, however the issue is not realized so far.

In 2010, Iran stopped oil swaps with Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan.

The Hague International Court of Justice fined the National Iranian Oil Company $5.5 million due to stopping the swap of oil with its international partners.

Under the oil swap agreements, which started in 1997 and were in place for over 12 years, Iran received crude oil of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan in the Neka port and delivered an equal volume to the clients of the same countries in Persian Gulf.

The total income received by Iran from these swap transactions from 1997 to 2009 amounted to about $880 million.