Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb.1
By Fatih Karimov - Trend:
National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) is in negotiations with European insurance companies to set up a joint group to insure Iranian crude oil cargoes, IRNA quoted NITC managing director Ali Akbar Safaee as saying on February 1.
As part of the six-month deal, the EU suspended its prohibitions on the provision of insurance and transport in relation to Iranian crude oil, while the United States paused its efforts to reduce Tehran's oil shipments.
The easing in U.S. sanctions will allow Iran's six current customers - China, India, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Turkey - to maintain their purchases at the current reduced levels for the six-month duration of the interim nuclear deal between Iran and world powers.
The sanctions put in place in 2012 slashed Iran's crude exports to about 1 million barrels per day (bpd) from a pre-sanctions level of around 2.5 million bpd.