Page 15 - DMEA Week 20 2021

DMEA NEWS IN BRIEF DMEA

POLICY meeting, saying that the participants noted among the JCPOA stakeholders that his
“good or significant progress” and that “an successor - widely expected to be from within
Agreement to revive JCPOA agreement is within reach.” Iran’s more conservative camps - could prove
more challenging to negotiate with.
The toughest obstacle has been addressing
‘within reach’ the US sanctions imposed in 2018-2020 that ARGUS
even President Joe Biden’s administration
Talks to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal views as “poison pills” designed to sabotage
have made significant progress to date and a future return to the agreement. Iran insists COMPANIES
a breakthrough is “within reach,” delegates that all those sanctions need to be removed.
participating in the negotiations in Vienna Biden’s administration says it will remove Rongsheng buys 12mn
said today. only those sanctions that prevent smooth
“In these last two weeks, we have been functioning of Iran’s economy. barrels of spot crude
successful in moving a lot of things forward,” That means that the US would be prepared
said Iran’s deputy foreign minister Abbas to remove the “terrorism” labels imposed on Rongsheng Petrochemical, the trading
Araqchi, who has been leading the Iranian Iran’s central bank, state-owned NIOC and arm of Chinese private refiner Zhejiang
delegation at the talks. “We can now say that other oil sector entities. But Washington is Petrochemical, has bought 12 million barrels
we have reached a framework or structure of loath to remove the same label from Iran’s of crude oil via a monthly spot tender in
an agreement,” Araqchi said. Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps - a its biggest purchase in many months, trade
The latest round of indirect US-Iranian military force with extensive political and sources said on Wednesday.
talks has been underway since early May. economic interests. PetroChina sold 6 million barrels, while
The discussions have “really helped to A breakthrough at the talks in Vienna Unipec, Total and Sinochem each sold 2
crystallize choices that need to be made by should lead to an easing of US economic million barrels, the sources said.
Iran, as well as by the US in order to come sanction against Iran, including restrictions The purchase involved Middle Eastern
back into a mutual return to compliance with that at one point removed more than 2mn grades Murban, Oman, Upper Zakum, Das
the JCPOA,” the State Department said today, b/d of Iran’s crude exports from international Blend and Basra Light, the sources said.
referring to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of markets and pushed Iranian crude output to The purchase was Rongsheng’s biggest
Action (JCPOA) nuclear deal. below 2mn b/d, a level not seen since the start single-month buy in the spot market over
US special Iran envoy Rob Malley, who of the Iran-Iraq war in the early 1980s. several months, doubling the volume of what
is leading the US delegation in Vienna, will Iran already has increased exports since the refiner took via its monthly tender in
return to Washington today but is expected January, by supplying as much as 800,000 b/d April, trade data compiled by Reuters showed.
to participate in the next round of talks in to China in recent months. But that outlet Zhejiang Petrochemical started the
Vienna early next week. for Iran’s exports may be affected by a recent second 200,000 barrels per day (bpd) crude
“We have made good progress. An regulatory change in Beijing. The handful of distillation unit (CDU) under its phase two
agreement is shaping up,” the EU’s deputy Chinese companies prepared to clear Iranian expansion about a month ago, raising its
foreign affairs secretary Enrique Mora said crude through customs ran out of import crude processing capacity to 800,000 bpd, the
following a meeting of the joint commission quotas in late April and have since been largest in China, one of the sources said.
of the JCPOA. Mora, who has been co- warned against that practice. However, it is not operating the new crude
ordinating the joint commission’s meetings The diplomats in Vienna are racing against unit at full rate, said the source, who declined
since talks aimed at bringing the US back the clock to reach a deal ahead of the Iranian to give a timeline regarding when full rate
to the JCPOA began last month, said he is presidential election, which is due to take could be reached.
confident an agreement will be reached. place in less than a month. With incumbent The oil companies do not typically
Russia’s ambassador to Vienna-based Hassan Rohani unable to stand for re-election comment on such commercial matters.
international organisations, Mikhail Ulyanov, because he has already completed two four- REUTERS
struck a similarly positive tone after the year terms in office, there is a real concern

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