Iran sees 15-percent hike in private oil deliveries

Head of the Union of Oil, Gas and Petrochemical Products Exporters says Iran’s private oil exports have increased 15 percent, which indicates ineffectiveness of Western sanctions against the country’s energy sector.

Hassan Khosrojerdi also said on Monday that long-term contracts have been signed with foreign customers to that effect.

“At present, the private sector has managed to sign long-term agreements with foreign customers for crude oil exports and oil sale to these customers is currently under way,” he added.

Khosrojerdi had earlier stated that Iran’s private oil exports had exceeded 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) on average, since June 2012.

At the beginning of 2012, the United States and the European Union imposed new sanctions on Iran’s oil and financial sectors to prevent other countries from purchasing Iranian oil and conducting transactions with the Central Bank of Iran. The sanctions entered into force in early summer 2012.

On October 15, the EU foreign ministers reached an agreement on another round of sanctions against Iran.

Western sanctions have been imposed on Iran based on the false allegation that Iran pursues military objectives in its nuclear energy program.

Iran rejects the claim noting that as a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency and a committed signatory of the Non-Proliferation Treaty it is entitled to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.