#Iran Visits Former Oil Buyers in Korea as Nuclear Accord Beckons - Bloomberg

Iran Visits Former Oil Buyers in Korea as Nuclear Accord Beckons - Bloomberg

Iran appears to be taking steps for its official return to the international oil market after more than three years.

Officials from state-owned National Iranian Oil Co. are meeting at least two South Korean refiners to discuss a potential return of supply from the Persian Gulf producer, according to people with knowledge of the talks. The discussions are at a preliminary stage with volumes and a possible timeline yet to be specified, one of the people said.

South Korea used to be one of the biggest buyers of Iran’s ultra-light oil. The move comes as the Islamic state said it’s rushing to get a good nuclear deal in negotiations in Vienna and the European Union’s top diplomat said that he believed an accord was “in sight.” An agreement between Iran and world powers would allow the return of 500,000 barrels a day of oil to international markets in April to May, eventually rising to 1.3 million barrels by year-end, according to Citigroup Inc.

An Iranian delegation made up of officials from the central bank, oil ministry and the NIOC are in Seoul on Feb. 15-16 for working-level talks that would touch upon financial and oil-related matters, according to a statement on the South Korean foreign ministry’s website. The two nations were planning to target talks over Iran’s frozen assets in the Asian country, Yonhap reported on Jan. 29.

South Korea imported as much as 18.5 million barrels a month from Iran before U.S. sanctions in 2018. While the biggest buyers of Iranian oil including Korea were able to continue purchases thanks to waivers, these weren’t renewed and imports halted in the first half of 2019.