Iran plans to further increase oil sales to BP, Shell in the near future

According to Director for International Affairs of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), Mohsen Qamsari, global energy giants BP and Shell have increased their purchases of crude oil and condensate – a type of very light crude produced from gas fields – from Iran through two to three consignments of oil over the past few months.

Each consignment comprises around one million barrels of oil, Qamsari said. He also added that the sales to the two had been carried out through spot contracts.Qamsari further emphasized that Iran expected to increase oil sales to Shell and BP in the near future through more spot contracts.

He added that talks were also underway with both companies over long-term sales deals.

On another note, Qamsari said that Iran’s average oil exports in 2016 stood at around 2 million barrels per day (bpd).

According to local reports, Iran’s current crude oil production was close to 4 million bpd, almost the same as before sanctions were imposed against the country in 2011.

The bulk of Iran’s crude oil is exported to Asian consumers including India, China, South Korea and Japan.  The country’s oil exports to its Asian clients had doubled in November compared to the same period last year, according to figures released earlier this week.

The four major Asian consumers of Iran’s oil were reported to have imported a total of 1.94 million bpd of oil from the country in November, which was 117% higher than last year’s figure.