Royal Dutch Shell will implement the terms of a European Union embargo on Iranian crude but will need some time to study details of the sanctions which are likely to push oil prices higher.

Mr Peter Voser CEO of Royal Dutch said that “We are a European company and therefore we are affected by the sanctions and we will obviously oblige and implement the sanctions. I need to study all the details in order to see how it goes forward in the next few months.”

Mr Voser said that “From a pure commercial prospective, the losers are consumers because at the end of the day it gives us more volatility and upwards pressure on the oil price.”

Industry sources said that Shell is one of the biggest consumers of Iranian crude oil taking around 100,000 barrels per day into Europe and about the same quantity into Asia under a deal with Japanese company Showa Shell that expires in March.

Mr Voser said that he had 'spent quite a bit of time with Mr Khalid al Falih head of state oil company Saudi Aramco at the meeting of political and business leaders in Switzerland but declined to say if he had asked Saudi Arabia to supply more oil to replace lost Iranian barrels. We have a great partnership with Saudi Aramco worldwide.

(Sourced from Reuters)