Iran sells crude oil to European companies within the framework of long-term deals and spot cargo, however the volume of spot cargo is higher, an informed source told Fars News Agency.

Iran still encounters problems in receiving payments due to banking issues, the source said, adding that central bank officials are seeking ways to expedite the process.

The source said that Iran also faces the same problem in oil export to Asian countries as banking sanctions still remain in place, the source said.

Iran was exporting 2.5 mbd of crude oil and gas condensate prior to the sanctions which were imposed in 2012, of which 18 percent was supplied to the EU.

After 2012, the EU cut Iran oil purchase while Asian countries had to decrease Iranian oil import gradually, which led to a decline in Iranian oil and gas condensate exports to 1.2 mbd in 2015.

After the removal of sanctions in 2016, based on nuclear agreement, Iran resumed its oil exports.

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According to Fars News Agency, Gholam-Hossein Shafeie noted, “Cooperation between the two countries (Iran and Armenia) is of special importance in energy security and in the near future, Iran’s gas can be transferred to Europe via Georgia and Black Sea.”

Shafeie accompanied President Hassan Rouhani’s delegation during the three-nation tour of Central Asia, which included Armenia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan from December 21-23.

He said Iran and Armenia have in recent years been strategic partners in the region.

Iran and Armenia, he noted, can cooperate in the exchange of technical and engineering services as well as in energy, petrochemicals, power transfer, dam building, establishment of factories, mining, agriculture, tourism, particularly eco-tourism and health tourism, cooperation in a third country and cooperation between the small and medium-sized companies.

He suggested the transportation of Armenian goods to other countries, especially China, India and Southeast Asia, via Iran’s Persian Gulf ports.

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Ali Abedzadeh told Mehr News on Thursday that Germany would be the most probable candidate to finance through credits Iran’s prospective plane purchase agreements, with Italy, Ireland, and France possibly as contributors.

“This is the most viable path to provide airlines with much-needed planes and to resuscitate the country’s antiquated fleet; the method is popular around the world in heavy deals such as plane purchase and the Ministry of Roads and Urban Planning had been since long working to secure purchases through this method,” he added.

“4 European countries hailed the initiative by Iran during negotiations; Ireland and Italy enjoy excellent backgrounds in financing international purchases and the CAO will continue keeping contacts with these creditors,” Abedzadeh told Mehr News.

Earlier, Abedzadeh had said in an interview that domestic creditors would also contribute to the international plane purchase agreements, to attract the participation of the private sector and to encourage enterprises in the airline industry.

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In a meeting held on the sidelines of the second phase of high-level talks between Iran and the European Union in the city, Takht-Ravanchi held separate meetings with Chairman of the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs, Elmar Brok, and Gianni Brok, president of the Socialists and Democrats Group in the European Parliament, Tasnim News Agency reported.

Following the conclusion of the JCPOA, Europe has the opportunity to shift towards a more constructive approach towards Iran.

During the talks, the senior Iranian diplomat exchanged views with them on a range of issues, including ways to promote relations between Tehran and the European bloc, as well as the latest regional developments.

The Iranian and European officials also stressed the need for development of parliamentary ties between Tehran and the 28-nation bloc.

Takht-Ravanchi was in Brussels to take part in the second phase of talks between Iran and the EU.

On November 9, he and the Secretary General for European External Action Service, Helga Schmid, led the second phase of the talks.

The two sides discussed various topics, including development of cooperation between Iran and the EU states in the fields of economy, business, energy, transportation, environment, education, health, science and natural disasters.

They also exchanged views on the fight against terrorism, combating drug trafficking, and the refugee crisis as well as settlement of the ongoing regional crises in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Afghanistan.

On the sidelines of the negotiations, the Iranian deputy foreign minister also held a meeting with Federica Mogherini, the EU high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, over expansion of bilateral relations and the latest developments in the region.

The first phase of the talks between Iran and the EU was held in Tehran between Takht-Ravanchi and Schmid in February. The following round of the negotiations is scheduled to be held in Tehran within the next six months.

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Director of Production Control in Iran’s National Petrochemical Company (NPC) Alimohammad Bosaghzadeh expressed satisfaction towards production volume of Iranian petrochemicals in the first seven months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20-October 21); “the figure rose up by six per cent as compared with the corresponding period a year ago.”

The official touched upon oil price fluctuations and their effects on competitive conditions of the market in the Persian Gulf explaining “current situations harm all parties, NPC, however, seeks to control prices in the Middle and Far East.”

He further noted that large portion of Iran’s petrochemical exports are made to Far East and countries such as India, China and South Korea.

Bosaghzadeh also stressed that Africa offers good conditions for imports of Iranian petrochemical products and efforts are being made to boost export figures to the African region.

Bosaghzadeh said that good talks were made about petrochemical exports to Europe in Germany’s Düsseldorf during K Trade Fair from 19 to 26 October.

Iran’s petrochemical exports are being deployed to the western and eastern Europe

“Currently, Iran’s petrochemical exports are being deployed to the western and eastern European states like Germany, Britain and Hungary,” he underscored.

The official said that Iran’s petrochemical output hit 28.7 million tons during the first four months of the current Iranian year adding “over 21 petrochemical complexes have had surplus output in the time frame spanning from March 20 to October 21.”

“Conditions of Iran’s petrochemical industry became more favorable as a result of several measures take in the first half of the current Iranian year including overhaul in both upstream and downstream, feedstock supply as well as diverse production,” the NPC official continued.

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On the latest status of oil products exports, Managing Director of National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC) Abbas Kazemi said “for the first time in the past one hundred years, Iran has tuned into an exporter of petroleum products.”

The official noted that all existing capacities in the country’s ports and oil terminals will be devoted to exports of various oil products asserting “in the current situation, long queues of oil tankers has been formed in Iranian terminals and loading schedules have been defined for all merchant vessels designed to transport liquids or gases in bulk.”

Kazemi referred to simultaneous functioning of four harbors at Mahshahr oil terminal stating “two new oil berths will soon become operational in the Iranian terminal.”

NIORDC managing director said Iran’s exports capacity for petroleum products has amounted to 500 thousand liters per day; “so far, the piping operations and installation of loading arms have ended in Mahshahr terminal and the project will soon come on stream.”

  17 million liters of gas oil was deployed daily

“In the first seven months of the current Iranian calendar year, a daily average of 17 million liters of gas oil was deployed to regional and global markets,” he underlined.

The oil official said a new record has been established by exporting a total of 25 million liters of gas oil in one single day; “moreover, presently a total of 1,000 to 1,500 tons per day of gas condensate are also being shipped to world markets.”

“Iran is now producing about 6,000 tons of gas condensate per day,” stressed Abbas Kazemi saying that the exports figure for fuel oil reached an average of more than 45 million liters per day in the first seven months of the current year spanning from March 20 to October 21.

He also touched upon the exports of jet fuel in the present year emphasizing “kerosene marks yet another oil product which can be exported in case of demands are put forward for the oil product.”

Deputy oil minister deemed Chin and India as two major customers of Iranian petroleum products reiterating “the volume of exports to Europe is lower since less demand is made for oil products by European markets as compared with Asian ones.”

Previously, NIORDC managing director, while pointing to the plan to stop gasoline imports as of 2017, had underscored “self-sufficiency in petrol production is attainable by the coming year in view of ongoing plans.”

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Iran and the six world powers: US, UK, France, Russia, China and Germany, reached a landmark nuclear agreement known as the JCPOA on July 15, 2015.

‘Implementation Day’ of the deal was announced in January, 2016, as the anti-Iran sanctions were lifted after Iran’s peaceful nuclear program was verified by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

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After the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in January, the European countries resumed oil imports from Iran or began negotiations for imports of oil from the major oil producer.

Qamsari said that Iran’s oil exports in October stood at 2.44 million barrels per day.

Asian countries continue to be the main destination for Iranian oil, according to Qamsari.

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Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi announced the prospective negotiations on Monday, saying the talks will cover a range of issues, possibly human rights, but asserted that the delegation would not be comprising a human rights team, Press TV reported.

“Our ties with Europe are fundamental and age-old and we have numerous commonalities and can even differ on issues that have to do with values and regional affairs,” he said.

Talks between Iran and Europe have existed in the past, too, and “given the inherent capacities of Iran and the capacities of Europe, they will continue,” Qassemi said.

“Our outlook on the issue of human rights through [the prism of] Islam has a special characteristic, which may not be comprehensible to some of them (the Europeans); [but] we can hear about their outlook and tell them about ours, too,” the Iranian official said.

Qassemi further said that the Islamic Republic had generally maintained good relations with most European countries, with the exception of the past years, during which sanctions had put relations in a certain condition.

“Today, with the removal of the sanctions, the two sides are engaging in recurrent consultations in different areas,” he said.

Iran has been invited to hold talks with Europe on higher levels, he said, and added that such negotiations would take place in the due course.

Close engagement between major players in Europe led to the conclusion of a nuclear accord with Iran in Vienna in July 14, 2015. The agreement, to which the United States, Russia, and China were also parties, ended 12 years of a dispute with Iran over its peaceful nuclear program.

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Figures released by Iran’s Customs Administration show that the value of the country’s non-oil exports to Europe stood at $643 million over a period of five months starting 21 March 2016.

This shows an increase of 21 percent compared to the same period last year when the country was still under a series of US-engineered economic sanctions, IRNA reported.

Iran’s biggest European importer has been identified as Italy which imported $261 million over the period. Next key importers have been Spain and Germany.

Italy imported around 16 percent more non-oil goods from Iran over the period compared to last year. Spain’s imports from Iran increased by about 26 percent and Germany’s imports rose by a meager 4.5 percent.

Iran’s Customs Administration further announced that the total value of Iran’s non-oil exports over the same period under study increased by 10 percent year-on-year. The value of the exports, it said, stood at $19 billion while imports stood at about $17 billion. Both figures, the Administration said, were lower than those for the last year.

Officials in Tehran had earlier complained that European banks are still refusing to provide services to Iranian merchants that want to export goods to Europe even now that sanctions against the country have been lifted.

Fariborz Karimaei, the deputy head of the Association of Petrochemical Industry Corporation of Iran, warned that this is already threatening export activities of key industries like the petrochemical companies.

Analysts have already emphasized that the banks remain wary of the impacts of the remaining American sanctions against Iran, specifically those that address banking transactions with the country.

Reports earlier said they want a promise that the US will not prosecute or punish them for transactions involving Iran — a step the US has so far been reluctant to take.

In May, US Secretary of State John Kerry told a meeting of top EU bankers that they will not be penalized for conducting or facilitating business with Iran.

However, European banks have already emphasized that Kerry’s assurances are not enough and a series of confusions that remain over transactions with Iran need to be cleared by Washington.

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