Tehran Times reported that Iran has launched a liquefied gas swap route in the Caspian Sea.

Mr Alireza Zeighami Iranian deputy oil minister announced that swapping other oil products such as furnace oil is currently underway with the Caspian Sea littoral states. Iran has not stopped oil swaps. Liquefied gas swaps had been carried out mainly via rail networks.

An official with the National Iranian Oil Company on July 7th 2012 absolutely rejected some news claiming that Iran has stopped swapping crude oil, saying that two ships carry Iranian oil at the Caspian Sea and deliver at the Persian Gulf on the weekly basis.

The official said that swapping crude oil is underway as it was in the past. Crude oil is loaded at the Neka Port and is delivered to international customers at the Persian Gulf. Between 15-30 thousand barrels of crude oil is swapped per day despite sanctions against the Islamic Republic's oil industry.

Mr Pirouz Mousavi said MD of the Iranian Oil Terminals Company said that "Iran has provided necessary facilities to increase oil swap with Central Asian countries through its northern oil terminal. IOTC is ready to increase oil swap operations between Iran and its oil producing neighbors in Central Asia.”

The official stated that the company gives priority to upgrading its oil swap terminal in Neka, in northern Iran, as the starting point of a major pipeline project which will connect Neka to the port city of Jask in southern Iran.

According to the official statistics released by NIOC, an average of 20,000 barrels per day of crude oil produced by Caspian Sea littoral countries is currently being swapped for delivery in the Persian Gulf and the figure is expected to hit 70,000 barrels per day in the coming months.

Source - Tehran Times

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