TEHRAN (FNA)- Senior Iranian energy officials underlined that the foreign countries, including Indonesia, do not have to wait for the sanctions imposed against Iran to be lifted, and they can start importing Iran's crude now.
"If any country, including Indonesia, wants to start importing oil from Iran, they will face no problem and they do not have to wait for the sanctions to be lifted, rather they can start supplying crude from Iran now," International Affairs Director of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) Seyed Mohsen Qamsari told FNA on Sunday.
He pointed to the news reports that Indonesian Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources Sudirman Said has voiced his willingness to import Iran's oil, and said, "We have not received any such request from Indonesia and we do not have any specific plan to export crude to that country."
On Saturday, the Indonesian minister of energy and mineral resources announced that his country is mulling import of crude supplies from Iran.
"The Indonesian government is planning to increase its oil imports through direct purchase from the producers, and Iran is one of the options for this purpose," Sudirman.
The Indonesian minister of energy and mineral resources said that President Joko Jokowi Widodo has ordered the government to purchase oil directly from producers.
Late in January, Iranian and Indonesian officials, in a meeting in Jakarta, underlined the need for the further expansion of mutual energy cooperation.
Export of Iran's crude oil to Indonesia and Iran's investment in construction of a refinery there were among the topics discussed between Iranian and Indonesian officials.
Iran plans to build half a dozen oil refineries in the Southeast Asian country of Indonesia.
By Fars News Agency
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