TEHRAN, Jan. 11 (MNA) Iran and Russia has negotiated bartering 500,000 barrels of Irans crude in Caspian Sea.Iran is preparing for much-vaunted historic oil trade agreement with its northern neighbor. State news agency IRNA reported that Iran had started bottom dredging of northern oil terminals in Neka in Caspian Sea to prepare the terminal for hosting gigantic oil tankers.
With sanctions hitting Irans oil exports and near-cutting of all Irans oil export to EU, the exports of Russian Urals crude had risen dramatically, effectively displacing Irans oil in the green continent.
Decreased Iranian oil exports to the EU provided Russians with a golden opportunity to seize upon EU markets supplied formerly by Iranian oil. Statistics show that export of Russian Urals crude has saw a dramatic rise and exceeded 2.2 million barrels of crude per day. Urals crude has the advantage of being sweeter than oil produced by Persian Gulf Arab states and Iran, and it is less costly to transport Urals crude.
Mehr News wrote in a report in Last June that Russia had expressed interest in purchasing Iranian oil, and that even Iran and Russia had launched negotiations to trade oil. Russian authorities proposed at that time to Iran that an inverse swap line established thus making it possible to transport oil from Irans southern terminals to Caspian Sea.
After seven months, now Reuters reports similarly that Iran and Russia had negotiated oil bartering. If the agreement finalized, Moscow would barter 500,000 Iranian oils for goods and facilities made in Russia. In last October, Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, Irans oil ministry had visited Russian energy ministry Alexander Novak behind closed doors, and some details of the gas and oil trade leaked to the media.
In last November, Irans Cabinet assigned the ministries of foreign affairs and oil with representing Iran in joint economic commission with Russia.
Official accounts revealed that now Iran exports 900,000 barrels per day, and possibly rise 50 per cent if Tehran-Moscow oil deal is finalized.
By Mehr News Agency
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