Iran’s Oil Exports Consistent with Geneva Deal: Report
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s oil exports to South Korea, rose 6.5 percent in November from a year earlier, but shipments for the first 11 months of the year were still below the 2013 average, indicating that Tehran is adhered to Geneva deal.
Preliminary customs data from the world's fifth-largest crude oil importer showed on Monday that Seoul bought 567,611 tons of crude oil from Tehran last month, or 138,686 barrels per day (bpd), compared with 532,851 tons a year ago, Reuters reported.
Under a preliminary deal between Iran and six world powers over Tehran’s peaceful nuclear program agreed in November 2013 in Geneva, big Asian buyers, including South Korea, should hold their crude imports from Iran at end-2013 levels.
Iranian crude shipments between January and November were 5.65 million tons, or 124,012 bpd, down 7.6 percent from a year earlier and 7.5 percent below the 2013 average of 134,000 bpd, according to the data and Reuters calculations.
South Korea's SK Energy and Hyundai Oilbank import Iranian oil and their imports fluctuate each month.
On November 24, 2013, Iran and the Group 5+1 (the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany) signed an interim nuclear deal in the Swiss city of Geneva.
The Geneva deal (the Joint Plan of Action) came into effect in January and expired in July, when the parties decided to extend negotiations until November 24 in the hope of clinching a lasting accord.
Iran and the group of six world powers (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) wrapped up seven days of intensive nuclear talks in Vienna on November 24 without securing a long-awaited comprehensive deal.
They decided to extend talks on Tehran’s civilian nuclear program for seven more months.
Tehran and the G5+1 (also known as P5+1 or E3+3) are scheduled to resume the talks at the deputy level in Geneva, Switzerland, on Wednesday.
