Iran has good chance of returning to EU oil markets: Expert
Iran can build up its presence in oil markets in south and east of Europe amid lower Russian supplies to the region, according to a senior industry expert.
According to Press TV, Mohsen Ghamsari, a former Deputy Head of Iran’s state oil company the NIOC, said on Wednesday that latest figures by the European Union suggesting countries in the bloc had resumed oil imports from Iran in 2022 are a sign that Iran has a good chance of returning to the EU market despite US sanctions.
Ghamsari said Western sanctions imposed on Russia because of the war in Ukraine have affected Russian oil deliveries to EU countries, creating a good opportunity for Iran to increase its crude exports to the region.
“Naturally, Russia cannot respond to all of the demands in European markets even under ideal circumstances,” he was quoted as saying by ILNA.
The expert said that Iran used to supply grades of its crude oil to refineries in Europe before the US imposed its sanctions on the country in 2018, adding that those refiners will be inclined to take delivery of Iranian oil in large volumes if sanctions are eased.
Figures by the EU’s statistics agency Eurostat released last week showed that the bloc’s imports of crude oil from Iran had reached 4,181 metric tons last year despite US sanctions that impose penalties on governments and entities involved in energy trade with Iran.
EU importers of Iranian oil shipments in 2022 were Romania, Poland and Bulgaria, according to the Eurostat figures which indicated that a bulk of the shipments had ended up in Romania.
ME
