Iran is due to offer a large cargo of condensate to domestic buyers through its energy bourse on Monday, in a direct sale to bypass the US unilateral sanctions.
The National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) is due to offer two million barrels of South Pars condensate at the international ring of Iran Energy Exchange (IRENEX), reported Fars News Agency.
Two million barrels of condensate will be sold at this round at the base price of $67.14 per barrel.
Iranian Deputy Oil Minister Amirhossein Zamaninia declared last month that Tehran was fully prepared to sell oil in a “grey market”, vowing to circumvent the US unilateral sanctions against the energy-rich country.
“We sell oil at a recently discovered grey market using all of our capacities,” he said, “This is not smuggling. This is countering sanctions which we do not see as just or legitimate.”
The United States told buyers of Iranian oil to stop purchases by May 1 or face sanctions, ending six months of waivers that had allowed Iran's biggest customers to import limited volumes.
The grey market is where products and goods are bought and sold outside, not within the original manufacturers’ authorized distribution channels.
Secretary General of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) Mohammed Barkindo said last month that it was impossible to remove Iran’s oil from the international market, asserting that the organization would keep supporting Tehran against the US unilateral sanctions.
Last week, Iran offered a large cargo of crude oil to domestic buyers through its energy bourse.
According to the Iranian energy bourse officials, the National Iranian Oil Company presented two million barrels of heavy crude oil on the energy bourse.
Iso recycle oil, naphtha and liquid gas were also on sale available for domestic buyers on IRENEX.