The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) will Wednesday offer 600,000 barrels of heavy crude oil for sale on the Iran Mercantile Exchange, the first such sale through the offshore oil and commodities market, oil ministry news agency Shana reported Monday.
"The base price for this heavy crude oil from the Bahregan oil fields is $115.18/barrel plus a $1 premium," Ali Akbar Hashemian, managing director of the Iran Mercantile Exchange, was quoted as saying.
He said the crude oil would be offered for sale into the Asian, Mediterranean and Northwest European markets for delivery in August.
Hashemian said that NIOC plans to offer 50,000 b/d of crude oil on a regular basis on the bourse after it finalizes all the necessary requirements.
The Iran Mercantile Exchange on Kish Island in the Persian Gulf was inaugurated in 2008, initially offering petrochemicals products. It has since listed refined oil products, the latest being a gasoline contract introduced in May.
The Iranian oil and economy ministries in late May approved a proposal by NIOC to offer the first crude oil consignment for sale through the exchange.
Semi-official news agency Mehr said at the time that the crude oil sales through the bourse would generate Eur5 billion ($7.2 billion) over the next 24 years.
Mehr said the crude would be sold forward in over-the-counter deals cleared through the commodity exchange.
In May, Iran succeeded in selling the first gasoline consignment, a 20,000 mt cargo, on the bourse.
OPEC member Iran, which is currently producing around 3.67 million b/d of crude oil, has also invited Russia to sell its crude on the Iranian bourse.
The IME said in a statement posted on its web site that the possibility of selling Russian crude oil through the Iranian exchange and the sale of Iranian crude oil through the St Petersburg Oil Exchange was being discussed.
"In order to smooth the participation of the Russian Federation in the Kish Oil Bourse of Iran and the public offer of the crude inventories of the Russia's oil sector in the international trading floor of Kish and launching the trades of Iranian crudes in St Petersburg Oil Exchange talks have been made between the Iranian oil ministry and Russian officials," IME Managing Director and CEO Seyyed Ali Akbar Hashemian was quoted as saying in an interview with the Iran Capital Market Information Dissemination news service.
"The method of trading oil in the exchange is based on Islamic Parallel Salam Contracts and other common trading methods such as spot and forward and on-credit contracts providing a trading suite for foreign and international producers and suppliers of crude oil as well as traders to partake and get the most out of this market," he said.
Hashemian appeared to be referring to a type of swap deal with Russia. He said further talks would be held after the oil exchange is launched officially "with Russia and other regional states for further development and expansion of the market.
