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Iran deflects effects of U.S. oil trade ban-source

ABU DHABI: Iran has minimised the impact of a U.S. trade ban by finding alternative markets for its crude oil in Europe, Asia and South America, an Iranian oil source said on Sunday.

"We have had a general policy of trying to diversify our customers and only a few months after the ban was imposed we have been successful to a large extent in lowering the effects of the embargo," the source told Reuters.

"The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) has done its best to seek other markets in countries such as South Asia, Europe and South America. The feedback has been good," said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The source would not say how much crude Iran had sold or planned to sell to those markets.

U.S. companies lifted an estimated 600,000 barrels per day of Iranian crude oil, worth about $4 billion a year, before President Bill Clinton's ban on U.S. firms trading with Iran took effect in June.

Dealers estimate that Iran has sold around 30 percent of the oil previously bought by U.S. firms to Mediterranean customers in extra spot sales.

The Iranian source said Tehran's ability to maintain crude oil prices underscored the failure of the U.S. embargo.

"We have been successful in selling our crude oil and keeping its price almost intact and competitive. This shows that NIOC has been able to tolerate the situation," the source said.

Washington accuses Iran of sponsoring international terrorism and seeking to develop nuclear weapons, charges repeatedly denied by Tehran.

The trade ban has pushed Iran, the second largest producer in the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), to increasingly resort to the international shipping market.

The source said the efforts to offset the U.S. trade ban was reflected in the fact that Iran's National Iranian Tanker Co. (NITC) has ordered new tankers from South Korea and other countries and accelerated chartering activity.

"The company has ordered new vessels such as double hull tankers and other types of ships. NITC has also been scrapping its old vessels and chartering tankers," the source said.

Before the embargo, U.S. firms used their own tankers or leased vessels to transport about one quarter of Iran's total crude exports from Iranian terminals.-Reuter