Azerbaijan, Baku, March 6 / Trend M. Moezzi
Iran's oil minister Rostam Gahsemi has strongly denied the sale of 1.5 million barrels of crude oil to the British-Dutch Shell oil company in East Asia, Mehr news agency reported.
Earlier Reuters reported that the National Iranian Tanker Company's (NITC) oil tanker "Delvar" docked at Singapore's Bukom Island to sell crude oil for the Royal Dutch Shell Company's refinery on Bukom Island which has the capacity to produce 500,000 barrels of oil a day.
Rostam Gahsemi's denial follows the reports that the National Iranian Tanker Company's (NITC) oil tanker "Delvar" docked at Singapore's Bukom Island last Thursday. The Royal Dutch Shell Company's refinery on Bukom Island has the capacity to produce 500,000 barrels of oil a day.
In a letter sent to Reuters, Shell has neither confirmed nor denied that Iran is delivering oil ordered by the company. In the previous statements, Shell said that it will join international sanctions against Iran.
The U.S and EU have recently imposed tougher sanctions against Iran. They have embargoed Iran's oil industry and petroleum products and the U.S. is pressuring other countries to stop doing business with Iran. In late January, the EU foreign ministers agreed to stop buying oil from Iran after current contracts run out by July 1.
The West's measures are part of an effort to make Iran answer the questions about its nuclear program. It says that it is peaceful and civilian in nature.
Earlier, Iran announced that it cut selling oil to France and the UK.