TEHRAN - National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) will offer two million barrels of heavy crude oil at Iran Energy Exchange (IRENEX) on Tuesday, ISNA reported. The base price for this round of offering, which is the ninth round, is $54.33 per barrel.

According to Iran’s current year budget law, NIOC is obliged to offer two million barrels of heavy crude oil, two million barrels of light crude and two million barrels of gas condensate every month.

NIOC, however has been offering various grades of crude oil almost every week, since the beginning of the current Iranian calendar year.  

As decided by NIOC in collaboration with IRENEX, buyers can receive their cargo up to three months after the transaction, and the delivery of the cargo in other regions is subject to NIOC approval.

Since the U.S.’s withdrew from Iran’s nuclear pact in May 2018, vowing to drive Iran's oil exports down to zero, the Islamic Republic has been taking various measures to counter the U.S. actions and to keep its oil exports levels as high as possible.

One of the main strategies that Iran chose to execute to help its oil exports afloat has been trying new ways to diversify the mechanism of oil sales, one of which is offering oil at the country’s stock market.

NIOC offered light crude oil at IRENEX first on October 28, 2018 just few days before new U.S. sanctions on Iran’s petroleum sector took effect (November 4). In the first round, NIOC could sell some 280,000 barrels of crude oil at $74.85 per barrel. With the daily supply amount of one million barrels, the market wrapped up by selling eight 35,000-barrel cargos of oil on the day.

Offering gas condensate at IRENEX came after the successful offering of crude oil at this market. The first offering was done on February 13, which failed to attract customers.

And then the turn came to heavy crude. Offering heavy crude at IRENEX came after NIOC offered light crude at this stock market in eight round. 

National Iranian Oil Company sold 70,000 barrels of heavy crude oil at IRENEX for the first time on April 30. In the first round one million barrels of heavy crude was offered at a base price of $60.68.
NIOC’s representative in IRENEX has said that the company will continue offering oil at IRENEX, Mehr news agency reported.
“Offering oil and gas condensate in the international ring of IRENEX has become a legal obligation, and it will definitely be a lasting move,” Amir Hossein Tebyanian said in a press conference hosted by Mehr news agency at the place of the agency in early July.
Briefing the press about the procedures and processes of NIOC’s oil and gas condensate offerings at IRENEX, the official noted that physical sales of oil at IRENEX is just the first step and the main goal is to activate other financial instruments, and offer Iranian crude in the regional stock markets.
“We will continue offering oil at the IRENEX in order to institutionalize the necessary procedures which are a prerequisite for improving IRENEX to the level of world class stock exchanges.” he said.
According to the official, IRENEX was initially founded in an attempt to permit the Iranian private sector export crude oil since Washington aims to cut Iran's oil sales. 
However now, foreign buyers have also expressed willingness to engage in IRENEX oil offerings and welcoming the idea, NIOC is preparing necessary bases for them to be able to do so.
MA/MA