Greek Oil Company Still under Influence of Iran's Banking Restrictions
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Greece's Hellenic Petroleum will not be able to purchase its first delivery of Iranian crude oil directly from the Islamic Republic due to banking restrictions on trade with the country despite a lasting nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers, a report said.
The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) and Greece's biggest oil refiner, Hellenic Petroleum, signed a deal earlier this month whereby the Greek company agreed to buy three loads of Iran’s crude in the wake of the recent implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Greece’s Kathimerini news website reported Tuesday.
However, this month’s load, and likely the next three, scheduled for April, will have to be purchased from France’s Total as Iran’s banking transactions and trade exchanges have not yet been facilitated.
The uncertainty in the regulations regarding the lifting of anti-Tehran sanctions has led to problems when it comes to carrying out international transactions with the country.
The same factor is causing problems with Hellenic Petroleum’s payment of the first 100-million-euro installment of its 600-million-euro debt to the Iranian company.
“We have disbursed the installment, but it has not yet reached Tehran,” a source with the Greek company told Kathimerini, highlighting the difficulties in transactions involving Iran and international credit institutions.
Given its size, Total enjoys different treatment when it comes to carrying out international transactions, even when these involve Iran. Total has signed an agreement for the acquisition of major quantities of Iranian crude.
Tehran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) on July 14, 2015 finalized a comprehensive deal on Tehran’s nuclear program and implemented it on January 16.
The comprehensive nuclear deal, also known as JCPOA, terminated all nuclear-related sanctions on Iran after coming into force.
