Greece In Talks To Resume Iranian Oil Imports
By Dalga Khatinoglu
Iran and Greece have held negotiations on resuming Iranian oil imports after lifting of sanctions against the Islamic republic.
National Iranian Oil Company’s managing director Rokneddin Javadi said Greek refiners have a considerable debt to NIOC, Mehr news agency reported on November 20.
He also said that a plan to sell oil to Greece on credit is on the table.
Several Greek delegations have so far come to discuss mechanisms to repay their debt to Iran, he said, adding that the debt is related to pre-sanctions era.
“However, selling oil to Greece on credit is dependent on how they will repay their debt,” Javadi said.
Iran’s deputy oil minister for international affairs Amir Hossein Zamaninia has said that Greek refiners have over one billion dollars debt to Iran.
Until 2012 and the start of renewed international sanctions on Tehran by the international community, including a hydrocarbons embargo, Greece was importing around 200,000 barrels of oil per day from Iran, being one of Iran’s best customers on a worldwide level, according to Balkanalysis.com.
The Greek refineries were importing the bulk of it, mainly due to the favorable open credit terms for up to six months that Iranian producers were providing, despite the “country risk” Greece was facing due to its mounting debt and the assorted problems that this entailed for the country.
The annual cost back in 2010-2012 for Greece was $5-6 billion paid to Iran.
