Azerbaijan, Baku, Jan. 15 / Trend F.Milad/
A number of European companies have announced their readiness to buy Iranian oil in advance, the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) director for international affairs Mohsen Qamsari said. He added that Iran by no means plans to rebate their Asian and European customers.
Speaking to Mehr news agency, Mohsen Qamsari said that the EU has reduced oil demand significantly, so that European refineries have cut their imports by 300,000 barrels per day. In such a situation, Iran's oil export to the EU has reduced, he added.
He rejected some news published by western media, saying that Iran has not lowered export-bound oil prices.
Bloomberg cited an NIOC official as saying on Wednesday that Iran has cut the price on crude supplies loading in February to Asia relative to benchmark levels.
According to Bloomberg estimates, Iran pumped 3.58 million barrels a day of crude last month. The Persian Gulf nation has threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz in response to U.S. and European sanctions aimed at reducing Iranian oil revenues. According to the U.S. Energy Department, the waterway carries 17 million barrels of crude a day almost 20 percent of global consumption.