Iran's oil exports steady despite sanctions – Iran OPEC Governor

Iran’s OPEC Governor Mohammad-Ali Khatibi has said the oil exports of Iran have remained steady in recent months despite sanctions. The International Energy Agency (IEA) had earlier said in a report that Iran's oil exports fell to 860,000 barrels per day (bpd) in September. The figure was 2.2 million bpd in December 2011.

Dismissing the IEA report, Khatibi said Iran's oil exports are the same as previous months and the situation is stable.  Khatibi denied that Iran's oil buyers are limited to few countries. Khatibi, who is also the director of the National Iranian Oil Company, said Iran's oil exports are at their normal level and are unaffected by Western embargoes.

The UN Security Council imposed four rounds of sanctions on Iran between 2006 and 2010 over its refusal to halt its nuclear enrichment program, which Western countries suspect could be used to develop nuclear weapons. The U.S and European Union have imposed and expanded sanctions of their own over the years despite Tehran's insistence on the peaceful nature of its nuclear program.

The EU imposed an oil embargo on Tehran on July 1, and is mulling over another round of sanctions on Iran's natural gas exports to the block.

Talks of more sanctions irresponsible - Iran

Iran has hit out at talk of more EU sanctions being applied against it as "irresponsible," singling out Britain for raising the prospect it claimed went against U.N. nuclear watchdog regulations.

Foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast issued a statement relayed by state broadcaster IRIB calling Western sanctions "ineffective" and "obsolete." He was reacting to comments made by EU foreign ministers, meeting in Cyprus who said a "growing consensus" was forming to impose new punitive measures on Iran to pressure it further to make concessions on its disputed nuclear program. British Foreign Secretary William Hague said after the meeting that existing EU sanctions were having "a serious impact" but it was "necessary to increase the pressure on Iran, to intensify sanctions." Hague's German and French counterparts echoed that position, underlining EU frustration that talks this year between Iran and the so-called P5+1 group -- Britain, France, Germany, the United States, Russia and China -- had gone nowhere.

Sanctions bite Iran as Asian Oil Market offer relief

The planned visit by Manmohan Singh, the first by an Indian prime minister in more than a decade, puts into sharp relief the sanctions-easing strategies by Iran — and the political complexities for Washington that limit its pressure on Asian powers needing Tehran's oil. Tehran tries to offset the squeeze from Western oil sanctions by courting energy-hungry Asian markets.

Oil purchases by India, China and South Korea — which decided to resume Iranian imports — have not covered Tehran's losses after it was tossed out of the European market in July. But they have given Iran a critical cushion that brings in tens of millions of dollars in revenue a day and means that Iran has dropped only one ranking, to stand as OPEC's third-largest producer.

The U.S. has pressed hard for Iran's top customers — China, India, Japan and South Korea — to scale back on crude imports, with some success, offering in return exemptions from possible American penalties. But Washington cannot push its key Asian trading partners too fast or too aggressively and risk economic rifts. Still, it's clear the U.S. is unwilling to risk trade wars with key Asian trading partners, even over the showdown with Iran.

For Iran, however, there's a parallel fight: Trying to keep the oil flowing to its key Asian customers, possibly through deals to sell at below-market prices.

Asia turns to Nigeria, Angola for crude oil as sanctions on Iran intensify

Asia is set to import record volumes of oil from Nigeria and Angola this year as increasing supplies of high quality crude drive down its export prices and some buyers shun their traditional supplier, Iran.  A Reuters survey of trade and shipping sources monitored by Nigeria Energy Intelligence shows that end-consumers in China, India, Indonesia and other Asian countries have bought around 1.74 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude for loading in the first nine months of this year, up around 8 percent from the same period in 2011.

Strong economic growth in China and other industrial economies across Asia is driving a rapid increase in demand for crude oil. African crude oil is typically "sweet", containing low levels of corrosive sulphur compounds, and much of it is also relatively heavy, meeting Asian demand for heavy industrial fuel oil and distillates such as kerosene.  Africa's two biggest oil producers, Nigeria and Angola, have been well placed to meet this extra consumption and exports from the West African region to Asia have risen by more than 50 percent over the last five years.

In the last year, this trend has been accelerated by a big jump in U.S. output of light, high quality crudes. This new domestic production has supplanted oil that used to be imported from Africa and also forced down global spot prices of some grades of West African crude oil.  At the same time, many oil refiners that used to take Iranian oil have been scared off by the U.S. and European Union campaign against the Islamic Republic and have instead taken attractively priced oil from Africa.

Asian buyers, who usually negotiate their spot and term import contracts at least a month before loading, have committed to take an average of around 1.64 million bpd of West African crude in the third quarter of this year, up from around 1.46 million bpd in the third quarter of 2011.  August has been a particularly strong month for imports into Asia with 60 cargoes carrying around 1.84 million bpd heading east. China, the world's top energy consumer, has taken around 28 cargoes, while Indian refiners have bought 21 cargoes.

September looks like a slower month for imports into Asia with price pressures taking their toll on volumes. West African crude oil is priced against North Sea Brent crude, which has been strong relative to Dubai crude, eroding some of the price advantages enjoyed by Nigerian, Angolan and other West African grades. The flow of crude oil to Asia from West Africa is likely to keep moving up going into the fourth quarter as Chinese refiners start to restock again, traders say, ensuring total volumes in 2012 exceed previous years.