Page 35 - IRANRptSep19

9.0 Industry & Sectors 9.1 Sector news
9.1.1 Oil & gas sector news
Crimea offers ports as workaround for Iranian oil export sales
Iranian government looking to shift more focus to selling petroleum products rather than crude
Officials in Russian-controlled Crimea have offered Black Sea ports of the disputed territory as export hubs for Iranian oil, according to the deputy chairman of the Council of Ministers of Crimea Georgy Muradov, TASS reported on August 27.
Iran is increasingly looking to build trade via Caspian Sea routes as a workaround from tensions in the Persian Gulf generated by the crushing sanctions regime imposed on Tehran by the US, which includes the objective of attempting to force Iranian oil exports to zero. More and more Iranian trade shipments now move along the routes that connect with northern Iran. They include fast-moving consumer goods and grain consignments.
The Crimean official reportedly said that Iran could use ports of the Crimean Peninsula—still internationally recognised as part of Ukraine but annexed by Russia—as a springboard for buyers. He did not discuss how Iran would transport the envisaged oil shipments from the Caspian Sea to the Black Sea ports of Crimea, although the two seas are linked by rivers and canals. “Mutual interest in cooperation between Iran and Crimea is growing, especially given the anti-Iranian American policy, the sanctions that have been imposed on this country, and the related consequences,” he said.
However, European Union sanctions against Russia and Crimea over the Crimea annexation are still in existence, so that might dissuade some Iranian businesses when it comes to doing business with the territory.
In June, Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, said that Iran had proposed the creation of a permanent international mechanism to combat sanctions, and "in principle, this proposal was supported".
In April, Crimean officials officially put out feelers for Iranian businesses to begin trade with them.
Tass reported on August 21 that both Iran and Syria were set to purchase sunflower oil produced in Crimea.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has said his administration is keen to shift to more focus on selling petroleum products rather than crude oil. Iran’s crude oil exports have been heavily curtailed by the US attempt to deploy sanctions in an attempt at driving shipments to zero.
Rouhani was quoted by official energy news agency Shana on August 24 as saying that the Islamic Republic was moving to sell more petroleum-based products over crude oil as buyers were more willing to purchase these from the country.
How severely the US sanctions have hit Iran’s crude exports cannot be satisfactorily gauged as the Iranians have been attempting to push many consignments through hidden transactions and disguised shipping.
Tehran, meanwhile, continues to experiment with selling crude via Iran Energy Exchange (IRENEX) auctions. It has offered light and heavy crude since October 28 last year. However, Middle East Oil & Gas (MEOG) reported on June 11 that a total of just 1.1mn barrels of crude have been sold so far over the exchange.
35 IRAN Country Report September 2019 www.intellinews.com