Baku, Azerbaijan, July 25
By Fatih Karimov - Trend:
Iran's outstanding oil dues from European and Asian companies, as a result of banking sanctions against Iran, amount to $5 billion, said Rokneddin Javadi, the managing director of the National Iranian Oil Company.
"At present, claims of the National Iranian Oil Company, except for claims of the Central Bank, from foreign companies, including Asian and European refiners, are estimated to be around $5 billion," Iran's Mehr news agency quoted Javadi as saying on July 25.
The shares of European and Asian refiners are $3 billion and $2 billion, respectively, he noted.
Based on officials of the National Iranian Oil Company and the Central Bank of Iran, Greek refiners, Shell, BP, India's Mangalore, as well as South Korean and Chinese refiners are the most important debtors to Iran.
Once sanctions against Iran's banking system are lifted, the country will have the ability to use the global financial transfer mechanisms established and maintained in the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, or SWIFT.
Iranian Minister of Economy Ali Tayebnia said in April that India owes Iran about $7 billion for the oil it has bought from the country.
Meanwhile, Indian Minister of State Commerce and Industry Nirmala Sitharaman said in March that his country owed Iran $8.8 billion for oil.
