Iran not to rebate oil customers

TEHRAN,Jan.16(MNA)--A number of European companies have announced readiness to buy Iranian oil in advance, the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) director for international affairs said, adding that Iran is by no means planning to rebate their Asian and European customers. 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 naturally, 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 Wednesday that Iran has cut the price of crude supplies loading in February to Asia relative to benchmark levels. Iran pumped 3.58 million barrels a day of crude last month, according to Bloomberg estimates. 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. The waterway carries 17 million barrels of crude a day, according to the U.S. Energy Department, almost 20 percent of global consumption.