Bahram Qasemi
Iran said on Friday that it had no concerns over the reimposition of new U.S. sanctions on the country's vital oil and financial sectors, expected to be announced by Washington on Nov. 4.
"America will not be able to carry out any measure against our great and brave nation ... We have the knowledge and the capability to manage the country's economic affairs," Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi told state TV.
Russian state-owned oil producer Zarubezhneft has pulled out of projects in Iran because of looming U.S. sanctions, two sources at the company told Reuters on Friday.The National Iranian Oil Company has signed a deal with Zarubezhneft to develop two oilfields, Aban and Paydar-e Gharb, in Iran.The 10-year agreement was intended to boost the production of the fields to 48,000 barrels per day from current 36,000 bpd. The fields are expected to produce a total of 67 million barrels of oil over the 10 years.Zarubezhneft has an 80 percent share in the deal and its Iranian partner, Dana Energy, the remaining 20 percent.Iranian planes refused fuel in TurkeyThe cost of developing the fields was estimated at $674 million, with an additional $68 million in indirect costs, according to SHANA, the news site of the Iranian oil ministry.However, a source at the Moscow-headquartered company said imminent U.S. sanctions against Iran meant it had pulled the plug on the projects."Zarubezhneft left all the projects in Iran due to sanctions," a source said. The company declined to comment.The United States is imposing new sanctions from Monday on Iran's oil industry after Washington withdrew from a nuclear deal between Tehran and other global powers earlier this year.US oil sanctions on Iran threaten 'paralyzed' economy"We would lose foreign currency revenue had we'd been hit by the sanctions," the source said, adding that this would also have a negative impact on its partners in other projects.Zarubezhneft's main area of activity has been offshore oil in Vietnam since the 1980s.Another source said the company had no plans to work in Iran.The Iran deal was first struck in March and Zarubezhneft's subsidiary, ZN-Vostok, opened an office in Tehran in April, according to the ownership records in Russian database SPARK.Iran says report of US oil waivers shows market needs Iranian crudeThe database also showed that ZN-Vostok is now controlled by Promsirieimport, a trading unit of Russia's Energy Ministry, which has been involved in Iranian oil trading.The energy ministry declined to comment on Zarubezhneft's decision.In May, Russian oil producer, Lukoil said it had decided not to go ahead with plans to develop projects in Iran at the moment due to the threat of U.S. sanctions.The company was in talks with Iran over development of Abe Timur and Mansuri oilfields.US grants eight countries Iran sanctions waivers
Russian oil producer Zarubezhneft quits Iran projects due to sanctions
U.S. President Donald Trump’s sanctions on Iran aim to eliminate its oil trade, "paralyzing" Iran's economy, thus boosting Trump's reelection hopes, even though most countries oppose these sanctions, said a regional analyst late Thursday.The first phase of the U.S. sanctions on Iran impacted sectors like automotive, banking, and mining and the second phase will mainly target the country's oil exports, which Iran's economy depends on, Hakkı Uygur, vice director of the Center for Iranian Studies (IRAM), told a panel on "Iran Sanctions, Impacts on Turkey and the Region" organized by the Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA) in the Turkish capital Ankara.In May, Trump unilaterally withdrew his country from the 2015 landmark nuclear deal signed between Iran and the P5 1 group of nations -- the five permanent UN Security Council members: the U.S., Russia, China, Britain, and France, plus Germany. He also announced that he would reinstate sanctions against Tehran, which were lifted by the agreement in exchange for tight restrictions on the country's nuclear program.The U.S. in August re-imposed the first round of economic sanctions on Iran, which mainly target the country’s banking sector.Iran says report of US oil waivers shows market needs Iranian crudeThe second phase of sanctions, targeting Iran’s energy sector, is set to go into effect on Nov. 5."If Trump manages to cut off the country's oil trade, this will lead to a paralyzed Iran economy," Uygur underlined.However, Uygur said, this is not a good way to bring Iran to the table because the Iranian people know Trump wants to create a victory out of this process before he is up for reelection in 2021."Iran has two options,” Uygur explained.“They will either wait for the end of Trump's term, which is the dominant attitude now, or they will see how the sanctions work. But I can say that Iran's hand is strong this time because almost all countries are against the sanctions."Uygur also said Turkey, as a neighbor to Iran, wants stability in the region and imports almost half of its oil needs from the country."Turkey also imports a significant amount of gas and does trade to Central Asia through Iran," he said.Israeli official says Khashoggi death 'despicable', but Iran greater challengeSanction exemption talks between Turkey, USKemal Inat, SETA's assistant general coordinator and director of energy studies, warned that Turkey itself will face U.S. sanctions if the country acts against the U.S.' reimposed Iran sanctions."Turkey is talking with the U.S. about being exempted from the sanctions, but I don’t think they will be successful. If Trump's main aim is eliminating Iran’s oil trade entirely, then he will definitely want Turkey to stop buying oil from Iran at some point," he said.US grants eight countries Iran sanctions waivers
US oil sanctions on Iran threaten 'paralyzed' economy
Iran said on Friday that a report that eight countries had been granted waivers to U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil showed that Iran's crude was needed and could not be withdrawn from the market. "The waivers granted to these eight countries shows that the market needs Iran's oil and it cannot be pulled out of the market ... I don't know whether these waivers are permanent or temporary ones," state TV quoted Iran's deputy Oil Minister Ali Kardor as saying.Bloomberg reported that U.S. government had agreed to let eight countries, including close allies South Korea and Japan, as well as India, keep buying Iranian oil after it reimposes sanctions on Tehran from next week.US grants eight countries Iran sanctions waivers
Iran says report of US oil waivers shows market needs Iranian crude
The U.S. government has agreed to let eight countries, including close allies South Korea and Japan, as well as India, keep buying Iranian oil after it reimposes sanctions on Tehran from next week, Bloomberg reported on Friday, citing a U.S. official.Iran’s biggest oil customers - all in Asia - have been seeking sanctions waivers to allow them to continue buying some of its oil.Bloomberg reported that close U.S. allies South Korea and Japan had received waivers along with India, which relies heavily on supplies from Iran. A list of all countries getting waivers was expected to be released officially on Monday, Bloomberg said.China says Xi-Trump call was quite positiveA Chinese official told Reuters that discussions with the U.S. government were ongoing and that a result was expected over the next couple of days.“We think Trump will agree to China importing some volumes, similar to the treatment that India and South Korea receive,” Clayton Allen of Height Securities said in a note on Friday.South Korea’s foreign ministry declined to comment, and Japanese officials were not immediately available for comment.Another country that has been seeking a sanctions waiver is Turkey, which takes significant volumes via pipeline from neighboring Iran.Turkey’s Energy Ministry said on Friday it had heard rumors of waivers but added it had not received written notification of any exemption on buying Iran oil after the United States reimposes sanctions on Tehran on Nov. 5.Although some waivers had been expected, crude oil prices fell, with Brent futures down by 10 cents at 0752 GMT to $72.79 per barrel, as the number of waivers granted surprised many traders.Goldman Sachs said it expects Iran’s crude oil exports to fall to 1.15 million barrels per day (bpd) by the end of the year, down from around 2.5 million bpd in mid-2018.
US grants eight countries Iran sanctions waivers