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IRAN NEWS ECONOMIC DESK

TEHRAN – The CEO of Iranian Oil Pipeline and Telecommunications Company (IOPTC) highlighted the major achievements in the oil transfer industry during the Islamic Revolution era.

In an interview with IRIB, Mr. Abbasali Jafari Nasab pointed to the goals and field of activities of the IOPTC, adding that the company is the link between downstream and upstream in the oil industry.

He pointed to the daily transfer of over 400m liters of oil derivatives by the company, adding that such a huge volume of transfer is carried out through 14,000 kilometers of pipeline while if the company wanted to transfer such an amount of oil products by the fuel trucks, it would have needed 60,000 trucks, it means 840 kilometers of trucks on the roads of the country.

Jafari Nasab also pointed to the ninefold growth in transfer of oil products after the Islamic Revolution, adding that in 1979, around 6176m liters of oil products were carried out annually through 2784 kilometers of pipelines but now tripling the length of the oil transfer pipeline after the Islamic Revolution, the volume of oil products transfer by the end of last year was ninefold.

He also pointed to the sensitivity of oil transfer operation and round-the-clock efforts of the company’s staff, urging media for being more careful in accurate reporting the related news to the industry.

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It is the first such payment since the United States imposed new sanctions against Iran in November.

The U.S. has given a six-month waiver to eight countries including India for imports of Iranian oil.

India, the world’s third biggest oil importer, wants to continue buying oil from Iran as it offers free shipping and an extended credit period, while Iran will use the rupee funds to mostly pay for imports from India.

“Today we received a good amount from some oil companies,” Charan Singh, executive director at state-owned UCO Bank told Reuters. He did not disclose the names of refiners or how much had been deposited.

New Delhi recently issued a notification exempting payments to the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) for crude oil imports from steep withholding taxes, enabling refiners to clear an estimated $1.5 billion in dues.

An industry source said India’s top refiner Indian Oil Corp and Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals have made payments for Iranian oil imports. Neither was immediately available for comment.

Meanwhile, in a meeting with Indian Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Shipping and Water Resources Nitin Gadkari in New Delhi on Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the European Union was moving slower than expected in facilitating non-dollar trade with Tehran to circumvent U.S. sanctions, forcing it to explore avenues with other nations, adding, “We are working with our traditional partners like India, China, and Russia so that we continue to work in the interest of our people.”

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Speaking at a televised talk show on Wednesday, Zanganeh said Pakistan has failed to construct even a single kilometer of the gas pipeline that it has committed to finish under a deal with Iran.

“Pakistan is under pressure from the US, Saudi Arabia and (the United Arab) Emirates,” he said, adding that Pakistanis have not taken any practical measure to construct the long-awaited pipeline despite the Iranian Oil Ministry’s insistence.

“Not even a single kilometer of the pipeline has been constructed on Pakistani soil,” the minister said.

Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline, which stretches for 900 kilometers only in Iran, has been designed to help populous Pakistan overcome its growing energy needs.

Iran has already completed the construction of the Iranian section of the pipeline, while Pakistan has fallen short of constructing its 700-kilometer share.

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Now that Japan has received the waiver, it will resume loading Iranian oil, with most shipments expected to be made in the period from January to March next year, Reuters quoted PAJ’s president as telling reporters on Tuesday.

Some refiners may load Iranian oil as early as around end-December, he said.

Yet, after the end of March, Japanese refiners are likely to stop loading oil from Iran again, unless they secure a waiver extension by that time, Tsukioka said.

The United States granted exemptions to Japan and seven other countries on Nov. 5, allowing them to continue buying Iranian oil.

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 Iranian diplomat Morteza Safari Natanzi said Sat. that the reason behind EU’s prolonged talks with Iran is because European countries are trying to find better ways to maintain banking ties and buy Iranian oil.

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Indian Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has conveyed that New Delhi will continue to buy Iranian oil to some extent, the official said, Reuters reported.

India has already placed order to buy nine million barrels of Iranian oil next month despite U.S. sanctions against Tehran’s oil sector coming into force from November 4.

Pradhan said on Monday that two Indian companies have placed orders to buy Iranian oil in November

India’s November loading of Iranian oil will be sharply lower than its purchases in the April-September period.

India was discussing its options to buy Iranian oil with all authorities, Pradhan said.

The United States plans to impose new sanctions targeting Iran’s oil sector on November 4.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in India last month that the Trump administration would consider waivers for Iranian oil buyers such as India but they must eventually bring the imports to zero.

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“Refiners have placed November nominations to lift 1.25 million tons (about 9 million barrels) of oil from Iran,” Reuters quoted a source as saying.

As reported, Indian Oil Corp will lift six million barrels of Iranian oil while Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd ships in three million barrels.

Indian refiners imported around 10 million barrels of Iranian oil in October, and its November shipments are expected to be lower.

In the previous round of sanctions from 2012 to 2015, India continued to buy Iranian crude although it had to cut purchases significantly to protect its wider exposure to the U.S. financial system.

The United States plans to impose new sanctions targeting Iran’s oil sector on November 4, however a U.S. government official said the Trump administration is “in the midst of an internal process” of considering waivers for countries that are reducing imports of Iranian crude.

The official spoke on the condition of anonymity.

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Oil refiners such as state-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC) and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd (MRPL) could use UCO Bank or IDBI Bank to route oil payments to Iran, the official added.

U.S. sanctions against Iran come into effect from November 4 and will block banking channels.

The official said refiners have booked oil cargoes from Iran for the current month as well as for October. Payment for oil bought in September would be due in November as Iran provides a 60 days credit period.

India had planned to import about 25 million tons of crude oil from Iran in the current fiscal, up from 22.6 million tons imported in 2017-18. But the actual volumes imported may be far less as companies like Reliance Industries have totally stopped buying oil from Iran and others too are scaling it down in hope of winning a sanction waiver from the U.S.

U.S. President Donald Trump had in May withdrawn from the 2015 nuclear accord with Iran, re-imposing economic sanctions against the Persian Gulf nation. Some sanctions took effect from August 6 while those affecting the oil and banking sectors will start from November 4.

The official said Iran is open to accepting rupee payment for oil and may use the money to pay for equipment and food items it buys from India.

UCO Bank and IDBI Bank have been identified to route the payment as the two have no exposure to the U.S. financial system.

UCO Bank had in the previous round of sanctions handled rupee payments.

Currently, India pays its third largest oil supplier in euros using European banking channels. These channels would get blocked from November.

During the first round of sanctions when EU joined the U.S. in imposing financial restrictions, India initially used a Turkish bank to pay Iran for the oil it bought but beginning February 2013 paid nearly half of the oil import bill in rupees while keeping the remainder pending opening of payment routes. It began clearing the dues in 2015 when the when the restrictions were eased.

Besides, New Delhi sought to get around the restrictions by supplying goods including wheat, soybean meal and consumer products to Iran in exchange for oil.

The official said this time around the entire 100 percent of Iranian oil import bill can be paid in rupees.

Iran is India’s third-largest oil supplier behind Iraq and Saudi Arabia. It was India’s second biggest supplier of crude oil after Saudi Arabia till 2010-11 but Western sanctions relegated it to the seventh spot in the subsequent years. In 2013-14 and 2014-15, India bought 11 MT and 10.95 MT, respectively from it.

Sourcing from Iran increased to 12.7 MT in 2015-16, giving it the sixth spot. In the following year, the Iranian supplies jumped to 27.2 MT to catapult it to the third spot.

Iranian oil is a lucrative buy for refiners as the Persian Gulf nation provides 60 days of credit for purchases, terms not available from suppliers of substitute crudes — Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, Nigeria, and the U.S.

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US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that US intends to use sanctions against China, Russia, EU and other countries which import Iranian oil, sputnik reported on Wednesday.

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