Iran’s Central Bank and National Oil Company released the list of companies and refineries owing oil dues to Iran.
During the period US and European sanctions prevented international banks from transferring money to the Islamic Republic, billions of Iran's oil revenues were frozen in banks overseas.
In a joint statement released by the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) and the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) the oil giants and refineries owing to Iran were listed, in which some Greek refineries, British-Dutch-owned Shell refineries, BP, South Korean Petrochemical and Polymer Company, along with Indian refineries top the list of Iran’s oil debtors.
The oil major Royal Dutch Shell owes Tehran $2.8 billion while it made a net loss of $6 million trading Iranian oil in 2012. Unlike its rivals, Shell continued trading with Iran under a provision for pre-existing contracts close to the EU's June 30 deadline before the embargo. The debt is for oil purchased in 2011 and 2012.
Accroding to Nirmala Sitharaman Indian Minister of Commerce & Industry, India owes about $8.8 billion for oil imports from Iran.
The Managing Director of National Iranian Oil Company Rokn al-Din Javadi says that foreigners owe his company $5 billion out of which 3 billion is owed by Asian Companies and 2 billion by Europeans.
On the other hand, earlier, Seyed Mohammad-Ali Khatibi suggested that buying shares or building refineries in other countries can guarantee long-term demand for Iranian oil. Iran can purchase shares in lieu of debts owed by refineries for previous oil purchases, which were not reimbursed due to the sanctions imposed against Iran.
'Acquiring more than 50% of an oil refinery's shares will not only reinforce Iran's bargaining power for long-term export of its crude, it can also provide the country with much-needed petrochemical products,' Khatibi said.
In order to embark on such an initiative, however, the Oil Ministry needs to obtain authorization from the cabinet and the Parliament.
Iran’s unsettled financial dues for oil export are estimated to stand at $20-25 billion.