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February 22, 2012

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Iran sets out EU oil export conditions

IRAN has laid out conditions for future oil exports to other European countries after halting sales to Britain and France earlier this week, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said yesterday.

The remarks by Ramin Mehmanparast came a day after oil prices jumped to a nine-month high - above US$105 a barrel - following Iran's announced halts in crude shipments in an escalation of the dispute over the country's nuclear program.

Tehran said on Monday it was considering extending the oil embargo to other European Union countries.

The halt in crude to British and French companies was an apparent pre-emptive blow against the EU, after the bloc imposed sanctions on Iran's fuel exports, including a freeze of the country's central bank assets and an oil embargo set to begin in July.

Mehmanparast told reporters that Tehran seeks guarantees of payments, long-term contracts and a ban on unilateral cancellation of contracts by buyers. He said all these should be considered if Europe wants continued trade and oil relations.

The terms were conveyed in a meeting with ambassadors of six European countries in Tehran, Mehmanparast said.

"Iran's conditions include guarantee of payment of the price on our oil and relatively long-term and midterm contracts from three to five years," Mehmanparast said.

He claimed these conditions would be fair to both Iran and the Europeans.

The 27-nation EU accounts for 18 percent of Iran's oil exports. With daily production of four million barrels, Iran earns 80 percent of its foreign revenue from crude export.

Mehmanparast said the cutoffs to Britain and France were due to the "hostile attitude" toward Iran.

Yesterday, oil prices remained above US$104.




 

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