Mehr News reported that Iran’s pending financial demands from world
petrochemical complexes and refineries have exceeded USD 18 billion, with
Greece and South Korea on top of the list.
Greek refineries, British-Dutch-owned Shell refineries, British Petroleum,
South Korean Petrochemical and Polymer Company, along with Indian refineries
top the list of Iran’s oil debtors.
Mr Seyed Mohsen Qamsari, NIOC International Affairs director, said that “Iran’s
financial demands from oil exports was estimated to reach USD 4 billionn, we
predict to receive this amount as sanctions on Iran’s banking system are
lifted, the debtor refineries have paid their debts, however, we could not
withdraw the amount due to sanctions and blocked accounts.”
Mr Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said that Shell was to pay tonne2.8 billion to NIOC; a
day after full removal of sanctions, Iran’s debt of billions will be accessible
by Iran in its bank accounts.
Apart from Iran’s financial demands from European and Asian refineries, some
individual Iranian petrochemical complexes also have billions of dollars in
financial demands in East Asian partners.
Mr Ahmad Mahdavi, Director General of Petrochemical Employers Association, said
that South Korea was in the top of the list of countries having financial debts
to Iran which exceeded billions of dollars.
Mr Mahdavi said however that South Korean oil companies sabotaged the process
of their debt payment, with Geneva joint Plan of Action which provisioned
easing of some banking operations, South Korean companies have not fully paid
their debts to Iran.
Along with British-Dutch-owned Shell, British Petroleum is the second debtor to
Iran; despite joint venture of gas production in North Sea since 2014, Iran’s
share of the incomes from gas project has been blocked with a directive from
British government. BP had been exempted from sanctions in its partnership with
Iran in Shah Deniz gas field of Republic of Azerbaijan in the Caspian Sea even
when the White House and EU put sanctions on Iran’s oil industries.
Ms Nirmala Sitharaman, Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry had announced
in March that India had an USD 8.8 billion of debt in oil income to Iran.
According to agreements with Iranian and Indian authorities, India should
deposit 45% of oil debts to Iran as Rupee in an account in UCO bank of the
country and the remaining 55% has gone unpaid yet.
Mr Zanganeh had said that China had not had any oil debts to Iran, but he added
that India had in its banks USD 5 billion of Iranian money waiting removal of
sanctions to be withdrawn.
Media have speculated visits by Indian delegations to Iran to discuss payment
of oil debts to Iran.
Source: mehrnews