Azerbaijan, Baku, Sep.16/ Trend F.Milad/
The Iranian private sector has concluded two new contracts with foreign buyers to deliver 4 million barrels of crude oil in the Persian Gulf terminals, the head of the union of Iranian exporters of oil derivatives, said.
Hassan Khosrojerdi told the Mehr news agency that the volume of oil will be delivered in the form of two consignemnets.
On September 9, Khosrojerdi said that the Iranian private sector has delivered the first consignment of crude oil via non-Iranian tankers to foreign buyers as the West intensifies oil sanctions against Iran.
He added that the private sector has signed several contracts to sell crude oil overseas.
An agreement has been made that allows an Iranian consortium comprising private firms to export 20 percent of its oil exports to international markets, including the EU, he said, "This equates to around 400,000 to 500,000 barrels of oil per day," he added.
Economic experts say that Iran's private sector will fill the gap created by international sanctions on Iran's oil sector and central bank.
On September 2, Mohammad-Ali Khatibi, the director for international affairs at the National Iranian Oil Company, said Iran's oil exports are at their normal levels and are unaffected by Western embargoes.
"We don't see anything abnormal, almost everything is progressing routinely," he told the ISNA news agency.
Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi said in July that although the West seeks to topple the Islamic establishment by imposing sanctions against Iran's oil sector, the country's oil exports will never cease.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has said the demand for Iranian crude has increased despite sanctions imposed against the country's oil exports by the EU and U.S.
The IEA reported on Wednesday that imports of Iranian oil increased from an estimated 930,000 barrels a day in July to 1.1 million barrels per day in August.