Iran’s pending financial demands from world petrochemical complexes and refineries have exceeded $18bn, with Greece and South Korea on top of the list.
Greek refineries, British-Dutch-owned Shell refineries, BP (British Petroleum), South Korean Petrochemical and Polymer Company, along with Indian refineries top the list of Iran’s oil debtors.
Seyed Mohsen Qamsari, NIOC International Affairs director told Mehr News that Iran’s financial demands from oil exports was estimated to reach $4bn; “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,” he added.
Bijan Namdar Zanganeh had told Mehr News earlier that Shell was to pay $2.8bn to NIOC; “a day after full removal of sanctions, Iran’s debt of billions will be accessible by Iran in its bank accounts,” Zanganeh was quoted to have said.
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. Ahmad Mahdavi, Director General of Petrochemical Employers Association told Mehr News that South Korea was in the top of the list of countries having financial debts to Iran which exceeded billions of dollars.
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,” he added.
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.
Nirmala Sitharaman, Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry had announced in March that India had an $8.8bn of debt in oil income to Iran. According to agreements with Iranian and Indian authorities, India should deposit 45 per cent of oil debts to Iran as Rupee in an account in UCO bank of the country, and the remaining 55 per cent has gone unpaid yet.
Zanganeh had told reporters earlier that China had not had any oil debts to Iran, but he added that India had in its banks $5bn 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.
