Japan Wants More Oil from Iran

Following the sanctions lifting against Iran on Friday, Japan plans to extend its deal on crude oil purchase from Iran until April 2017, National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) said.

Japan also intends to increase the amount of crude oil from the current level of 110,000 barrels per day, however the exact increase amount was not disclosed.

The announcement comes on the heels of the long-awaited lifting of the US-led sanctions against Iran as the country met  all the requirements  to curb its disputed nuclear program. The move has seen numerous international delegations flocking to Tehran with the aim of striking energy and trade deals.

NIOC said that over the past month Iran hosted several visits from Japanese oil delegations to look for the ways of returning to the previous status of oil relations with Iran.

Separately, Iran is working toward exporting its natural gas to Oman, where it would be converted into liquefied natural gas (LNG) intended for exports to international markets. Qalhat LNG plant is most likely to receive the cargo and convert it to LNG.

To this end, Iran’s oil minister Bijan Zangeneh visited Oman last week to follow up talks on energy cooperation including a project to pipe Iran’s natural gas to Oman.

According to Alireza Kameli, the managing director of the National Iranian Gas Export Company (NIGEC), around 30 percent of the gas that Iran plans to export to Oman will be used for producing LNG.

The deal dates back to 2013 when the two parties agreed to ship natural gas via a sub-sea pipeline yet to be constructed.

The proposed amount to be exported per day is 28 million cubic meters (mcm).

World Maritime News Staff