Based on report ,Iran’s non-oil foreign trade in the first two months of the current Iranian calendar year of 1395 (March 20- May 20, 2016) reached $12.4 billion according to the latest report of Iran Customs Administration.

According to the International statisticts indicated that Imports, including field corn, soybean, rice, and some specific auto parts stood at $5.49 billion, down 13.54 percent compared with last year’s similar period. Imported goods mainly originated from China, the United Arab emirates (UAE), Russia, South Korea, Turkey, Germany, and India.

Exports, which chiefly comprised gas condensate, petroleum gases and liquefied hydrocarbon gases, liquefied propane, and bitumen, reached $6.85 billion, indicating a 14.68 percent drop compared with the corresponding period of last year. China, Iraq, the UAE, South Korea, and India were the main export destinations.

According to Iran’s Customs Administration, in the past Iranian calendar year, which ended on March 19, 2016, the value of the country’s non-oil trade reached over $83 billion.

In the past year, the Tasnim news agency reported, Iran exported $42.415 billion worth of goods while its imports reached $41.499 billion, showing a 16.11 percent decrease in the value of exports and a 22.53 percent decline in the value of imports when compared to its previous year.

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Over the last decade, developments in the energy market, especially for hydrocarbons, have contributed to an increased tendency among countries about the future access to reasonably priced energy.
As a result, energy security is uppermost in the minds of the general public as well as policymakers. Therefore, investing in future energy sources to meet the growing demand for energy is considered as a main inclination of most countries.
The current high-commodity price environment has made energy investment look attractive. Expenditures in energy infrastructures` investment of nearly 22 trillion US$, through 2030 will be required. (Table 1)

. (Table 1)

In accordance with Iranian Oil industry Vision (2025), the required investment in various sectors of Oil industry has been estimated about 501.52 billion dollar, (yearly investment of 25 billion dollar)(Table 2) in which 231.68 billion dollar will be in upstream and 269.84 billion dollar would be allocated to downstream of oil, gas and petrochemical sectors.
In Oil upstream, the required investment has been estimated about 93.930 billion dollar where 49.780 billion dollar  would be generated from foreign sources.
In Gas upstream, 137.75 billion dollar investment is needed where 106.740 billion dollar is predicted to be allocated from foreign resources.


   


On the other hand, up to 2025, the required investment for oil refining section (construction of new refineries and protection of current refineries and facilities capacity) would be 44.251 billion dollar (15.711 billion dollar foreign investment). In addition, 25.290 billion dollar investment is the estimated amount for refining of gas sector where 17.703 billion dollar will be provided from foreign sources.
Oil and gas pipelines, require 22.29 and 55.890 billion dollar investment respectively, in which about 39.123 billion dollar would be from foreign resources.
In order to achieve the planned objectives of oil industry sectors during the fifth development plan,  about 191 billion dollar investment is estimated where 81 percent - 155 billion dollar – would be enforced in upstream sector to develop oil and gas fields as well as sustain operation capacity. Furthermore, about 56 percent of upstream plan is organized for development and furtherance of production capacity in gas fields.
The planned investment for refinery section is 12.6 billion dollar that would attain the construction of crude oil and condensate new refineries inside/outside of territory, improvement and optimization of oil products quality in existing refineries and development of pipelines and storage tanks as well.
Finally the investment plan for natural gas downstream is 23 billion dollar that will enhance the natural gas refinery capacity and gas pipelines network throughout the country.
Table 3 illustrates the details of investment opportunities, in different sectors of oil industry, through the fifth development plan.

Director of the International Affairs Department of the National Iranian Oil Company Mohsen Ghamsari said  that Iran's crude exports exceeded two million bpd.


Ghamsari added  that thank God Almighty Iran has since implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action(JCOPA) has been able to take up about 900,000 bpd it was lagging behind the export share due to the oil sanctions.
He said Iran has been able to raise its production to more than 3.8 million barrels per day in less than four months since the JCPOA was implemented and the sanctions were lifted.

Operator of the project for development of South Azaegan oil field Mahmoud Marashi says National Iranian Drilling Company (NIDC) has won the tender for drilling 20 oil wells in South Azadegan field.


Marashi said tender will soon be held for drilling of 20 more wells in South Azadegan oil field.
He said eight companies have run the bid for drilling 20 wells in South Azadegan. 'After financial and technical assessments, the NIODC named the winner of the tender.'
The official said the NIDC should drill the 20 wells in two years. Six drilling rigs will be employed for the purpose based on the schedule, he added.
Meanwhile, Managing Director of the NIDC, Mohammad-Reza Takaydi said his company is busy completing 40 wells in South Azadegan and the project is predicted to be complete by November 21.
He added that drilling of 20 more wells will then begin in the area.

Hungary's state-owned oil and gas group MOL has indicated preparedness to join oil projects in Iran by the adopting enhanced oil recovery (EOR) and improved oil recovery (IOR) techniques, a senior Iranian oil official said.

Following a meeting with MOL deputy chief executive officer, Berislav Gaso, in his Tehran office on Wednesday, Deputy Petroleum Minister in International Affairs and Trading Amir Hossein Zamani Nia said the company has over 70 years of experience in the field.

Zamani Nia who hosted the meeting with the Hungarian energy delegation, which was headed by Janos Kovacs, the Hungarian ambassador, said MOL is keen on establishing long-term partnership with Iranian energy companies.
“Presence and partnership in natural gas export projects in Iran and construction of gas pipelines were the main areas MOL has shown interest to work in Iran,” the official said.

Furthermore, purchase of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and partnership in refinery, liquefied natural gas (LNG) and NGL projects are other areas that MOL has indicated readiness to work in Iran, he added.
MOL is operating in oil and gas projects in 33 countries.

The company has also purchased a crude oil cargo from Iran which is being consumed by Hungarian refineries, said Zamani Nia.
Prior to the meeting, the Hungarian delegation met with Managing Director of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) Ali Kardor.

India is planning to invest as much as $20bn in oil, petrochemicals and fertiliser projects in Iran in order to import more crude to meet its demand.


Indian Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan made the investment offer to Iranian counterpart Bijan Namdar Zanganeh during a two-day visit in Tehran.

Pradhan said that the country is seeking to invest in oil and natural gas, build petrochemical plants and gas-processing facilities and expand ports, by developing new industrial hub of Chabahar, in Southeastern Iran.

The Indian Oil Ministry said in a statement: "Pradhan conveyed to the Iranian side that Indian companies could invest up to $20 billion and were interested in setting up petrochemical and fertilizer plants, including in the Chabahar SEZ, either through joint venture between Indian and Iranian public sector companies or with private sector partners."

Pradhan requested Iran to allocate appropriate and adequate land in the Chabahar SEZ as well as supply rich gas at a competitive price to India.

In particular, India plans to increase its oil imports from Iran from the current volume of 350,000 barrels per day (bpd).

Since international sanctions were lifted in January, Iran has been seeking potential foreign investment in a bid to revive its oil, gas and petrochemical industries.

Zangeneh was quoted by Press TV? as saying: "We hope that India's imports of oil from Iran will increase now that the sanctions have been removed."

Iran has also been requested for a long-term basis for planned joint venture projects.

Additionally, the Indian firms are planning to build a gas cracker unit and a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) extraction unit in Chabahar.

The two countries also discussed ways of transporting gas through the proposed Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline to India.

India also discussed the award of rights to Indian firms for the development of Farzad-B gas block, which is estimated to have 21.68 trillion cubic feet of reserves in-place, reported The Hindu?.

By Farshad Alikhani

Oil and gas 'Common Fields Development' (CFD) is a strategic consideration for the owner governments. Any owner government, despite its national, political and sectorial tendencies, has always emphasized its deliberations to CFD to promote its national interests.
In other words, there is no disagreement on the issue among any sovereign state's political and economic elites. This consensus has realistically been an opportunity to pursue an effective roadmap to CFD and defend hereby the actualization of international common interests. There are some challenges for some countries in common oil and gas fields' development.

In this context, if the question is why sufficient and acceptable results to maintain international interests in some certain common oil and gas fields have not been fully realized yet, in comparison with other satisfactory benchmarks in some regions, then the following analysis may briefly contribute to the explanation of different aspects of the issue and proposing some remedies to treat the CFD underdevelopment syndrome for the actualization of their on-time and effective collaborations.
Joint development of oil and gas resources among oil and gas-rich countries is of great importance in the era of ever increasing need for co-sufficiency and collaboration. There are pessimistic, as well as, optimistic approaches to oil and gas CFD. I do believe in 'Realistic Optimism' as a sound approach to analyze current and future trends in oil and gas CFD and hereby briefly explain different aspects of CFD.

Role of visionary leadership & energy diplomacy
The politics of cooperation governing CFD is a critical dimension of the issue. Political attitudes of the players may accelerate or hinder the pace of co-operations. A win-win attitude brings about peaceful adjustment of conflicts and can strategically lead to common interest's fulfillment. Other win-lose or lose-lose approaches have been repeatedly adopted by some players in certain circumstances, which past experiences have frequently shown that the defeated parties pursue routes to remunerate the undesired results.

Hence, the adoption of win-win approach can strategically benefit all in the long-run. I do believe that emphasizing on the principles of 'Continuous Dialogue', 'Good Intent', 'Sincerity', 'Purposefulness' and 'Mutuality' is a must for the involved stakeholders. It will, with more likelihood, lead to peaceful adjustment of probable disputes or conflicts. This necessitates on its own turn, the observance of international legal frameworks and traditions.
Negotiations can act as serious means to resolve likely disagreements in a peaceful and friendly manner. The observance of these principles brightens the horizon of common interest's actualization. The security issue is another aspect of the matter. Engaging collaboratively to safeguard common resources can reduce the probability of conflict and can act as an effective mechanism to conflict resolution and hence, contributing to a more secure atmosphere.

The challenge of 'Unified Leadership' has to be handled through adopting collective mechanisms such as establishing a 'CFD Leadership Committee'. This helps to bring about change in the shortest period of time. This committee has to work closely with 'CFD Operational Committee' which follows the effective and timely operationalization of the policies adopted by the leadership committee.
There are various approaches to CFD which I call here as 'Balanced-Developmental Approach' (BDA), which emphasizes the development of all phases of a certain oil or gas field, and 'Imbalanced-Developmental Approach' (IDA), which concentrates on certain prioritized phases of a certain oil or gas field. Each approach has normally its opportunities and deficiencies, if is seen in a real strategic and operational and technical context. There are many reasons regarding when and how to apply IDA or BDA, but the role of governors' 'economic, political, developmental and technical attitudes', besides 'situational contingencies' are important factors to consider among the others, which the leadership committee can decide upon.

Accountable and flexible management
There are some managerial obstacles which may hinder and slow down the pace of CFD. There are some managerial considerations to facilitate the effective CFD. Cooperations lead to the efficient utilization of common oil and gas resources and herby to strategically manage common fields in the long-run. Establishing consortiums for more productivity is a mechanism in this regard. The establishment of 'Joint-Ventures' or 'Common Commissions' for deepening interim co-operations is a widely used recipe to speed up the timely joint-implementation of common projects in a certain common field. Such mechanisms help either to share resources, or diffuse managerial and technical expertise and experiences by the involved parties. As a matter of fact, Outsourcing oil and gas projects to 'Real Private Sector' or 'Real Semi-Private Sector' of the involved governments can synergize the overall shared capabilities.

Responsive, cohesive, ethical and accountable management for CFD is a strategic requirement to respond to the developmental needs of the industry and to foster 'Meaningful Change'. Accountability of management towards the achievement of CFD goals in a definite period of time seems to be one of the most vulnerable managerial issues. The appointed bodies by the leadership committee are responsible to accomplish the determined goals. This managerial mechanism promotes the accountability of delegated bodies for their performance. The leadership committee shall be informed on the progress to help lead the overall process. Issues such as 'Early-Production' can be considered as strategic issues by both committees to respond to market demand, if it has reached to disequilibrium. These mechanisms, if implemented effectively, will treat what I call 'The Projects Completion Syndrome' (PCS). Flexible management is a prerequisite to foster requisite leniency in all phases of the development process.
Proactive investment & finance: Key to financial success

The third issue is the effective and timely 'Financing' CFD projects. Close coordination with national parliaments, domestic and international financers are suggestible mechanisms for the harmonization of all CFD efforts. Joint-financing CFD can be achieved through establishing a 'Joint-Financing Committee' (JFC) to foster necessary changes.
Technology, methods and equipment

Technological issues are enough important to cite for promoting CFD efforts. New financial, operational and managerial methods have to be exercised by the involved stakeholders to speed up the effective utilization of common oil and gas fields. Supporting strategists, technologists and manufacturers have to be put on the technology development agenda; procurement from international markets must simultaneously be on the fore of the efforts. The adoption of new technologies for operational efforts such as 'Directional Drilling' or 'Radial Drilling' is of strategic importance for CFD.
New legal frameworks, contracts as catalyzers

Establishing and application of a diversified set of 'Contracts' is another challenge for the involved partners. To initiate new legal frameworks, CFD must be streamlined by a closed harmonization with respective national governments or parliaments and a composition of independent expert groups and institutions.
New frameworks must either actualize the interests of the involved actors who engage in CFD efforts. What I call as a win-win 'Financial Gains Portfolio' (FGP) for the engaged parties can be assumed as the core point of CFD agenda. There will be a real need to review and reorganize present legal frameworks to promote the unity of efforts and interests in CFD. New elaborated contractual and legal frameworks pose serious implications on motivating giant financers and investors.

National interests as well as other stakeholders' interests must be observed, in a broader context, through developing a 'Comprehensive Interests Basin' (CIB) to convince all involved parties to be able to gain what they are pursuing in their interim co-operations. Establishing an expert committee to address potential neglects on contractual issues is important to prevent misunderstandings, resolving disputes or probable corruptive behaviors, which in many cases, seem to be inherent in some oil and gas deals.
Strategic human resources management: The heart of petroleum sector management

Strategic human resources management (SHRD) is a strong commitment for effective CFD efforts by the engaged partners. Adopting an effective and meaningful 'Human Resources Management' (HRM) system based on scientific measures such as 'Performance-based Management' (PBM), or 'Competency-based Management' (CBM) can act as an early-productive mechanism to promote the morale of craftsmen in common oil and gas fields. Human factor is 'the most important element of joint-productivity'.
Co-operative 'intergovernmental relationships' are important for developing common strategies for CFD to maximally increase Returns on Investments (ROIs). For this to happen, the involved stakeholders may find ways and means to legally, politically, managerially and technically evaluate pitfalls and provide time-saving remedies to safeguard common interests through CFD in a broader internationally cooperative and strategic framework.

Overcoming political and more importantly, technical barriers for effective CFD is a liability which can be realistically managed through mobilizing mutual capabilities and initiating visionary leadership, through energy management and diplomacy. The effective implementation of CFD schemes can be achieved through a comprehensive mobilization of common capabilities and engaging in energy diplomacy and multilateral dialogues among the involved stakeholders.

An HOA (heads of agreement) was signed between NIOC and POGIDC within the framework of Iran’s new model for oil contracts called Iran Petroleum Contracts (IPC).

The newly-signed agreement marks the first IPC sealed following the implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)

Under the terms of the deal, the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) has put Persia Oil & Gas Industry Development Company (POGIDC) in charge of development of and implementation of Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) methods in Yaran, Marun and Kupal oilfields.

The first IPC, revolving around development of Yaran joint oilfield, was inked on Tuesday morning at the presence of Iran’s Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh, chairman of board of directors of POGIDC Gholamhossein Nozari and President of the Headquarters for Execution of Imam Khomeini's Order (EIKO) Mohammad Mokhber.

The developmental contract, meanwhile, was signed by Deputy Head of NIOC for Development and Engineering Affairs Gholamreza Manuchehri and POGIDC Managing Director Naji Sadouni.

Persia Oil & Gas Industry Development Company (POGIDC) marks one of the eight Iranian firms who have been qualified by the Iranian Oil Ministry for conducting activities in the upstream oil sector is also commonly known as the exploration and production (E&P) sector.

Today, in addition to development of Yaran joint field, POGIDC was also entrusted with the task of increasing oil recovery in Marun and Kupal oilfields in the form of two separate contracts.

NIOC had earlier announced that Iranian companies active in E&P areas were allowed to take charge of small and medium-sized fields as well as to seek assistance from foreign firms if need be.

Yaran oilfield, which is being developed in two sections of North and South Yaran, remains as one of West Karun joint fields.

Under a buyback scheme, POGIDC is now developing the northern region of the field and the plan to produce 30 thousand barrels of crude oil per day is on the verge of operation.

The number of the countries on the list of the buyers of Iran's oil which had been limited to five due to unfair anti-Iran sanctions has risen to 10 after the average oil exports of the country reached 2.1 million barrels per day.
Iran oil customers rise to 10: Report
According to a report by IRNA on Monday, some European countries have been added to the list of buyers of Iran's oil.

This happened after the deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) between Iran and world powers on July 14, 2015. Two sides agreed to implement the deal on January 16, 2016.

China, India, Japan, South Korea and Turkey had been customers of Iran's oil during the sanctions era.

Under the sanctions, they were allowed to daily import near one million barrels of oil in total from Iran.

Oil exports to Europe had almost stopped during the sanctions period. Just Turkey which is located in both Asia and Europe was importing 60,000 to 100,000 barrels per day of Iran's oil at that time.

After the announcement of 'Implementation Day', the obstacles to export Iranian oil were removed and Tehran made efforts to increase its exports to return to oil markets.

So, on one hand the Asian customers raised their imports of Iran's oil and on the other hand, the Europeans resumed buying oil from Iran after several years.

 Deputy oil minister has reported on negotiations with several European, Asian, African and South American countries on building or buying refineries.

On Iran’s new plans to construct refineries in foreign countries, Managing Director of National Iranian Oil Refining and Distribution Company (NIORDC) Abbas Kazemi said “currently, buying stocks of crude oil refineries abroad is one of the policies pursued by the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) to ensure guaranteed sale of Iranian crude in the long run."

The official deemed the policy as a sound one asserting “before the Islamic Revolution, Iran held shares at four major foreign refineries while many countries implement the same policy nowadays.”

Kazemi further commented that in negotiations with countries like Brazil and Spain, we have proposed to construct crude oil refineries within the framework of equal shares and partnership; “NIORDC mainly undertakes the technical feasibility and economic justifiability of the project while NIOC remains as the key decision maker.”

NIORDC managing director also stressed that South Africa has voiced willingness to improve the quality of its oil refineries by Iranian experts; “Iran’s current approach is to invest in the construction of the refineries with the prerequisite that most required equipment will be supplied by Iranian manufacturers,” he maintained.

 Deputy oil minister reiterated that “recently, some talks have been conducted with Indonesian and Malaysian companies to activate their refinery projects in which Iran holds shares.”

Iran sold light crude oil at $44.60 per barrel in the week ended on May 27, a 9-cent rise from its previous week, World Business Year reported .

The country’s light oil price stood at $34.5 on average since the beginning of current Iranian calendar year (March 20, 2016).

Also, Iran sold heavy crude oil at $42.39 in the mentioned week, with 6 cents increase from its preceding week.

The country’s heavy oil price stood at $32.05 on average since the start of this calendar year.

Meanwhile, Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)’s basket price rose to $44.65 per barrel on average in the week ended on May 27, with 11 cents increase from its preceding week.  

Iran, once OPEC’s second-largest producer after Saudi Arabia, is seeking to clear space for its gradual return to the market now that the sanctions are being lifted against the country.

In the 169th (ordinary) OPEC meeting in Vienna on June 2, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh announced that the Islamic Republic plans to increase oil production to 4.8 million barrels per day (bpd) in 5 years and return its pre-sanctions share of 14.5 percent in OPEC.

 

The head of Iran's petroleum contracts committee said on Thursday the government has approved a model for new contracts, but it was still being processed by a commission.
Asked when the final draft of the contract will be ready, Seyyed Mehdi Hosseini told an oil summit in Paris that the committee he chairs was hoping for June or July, Reuters reported.
"We are doing our best to do something in June or July," Hosseini said, adding that the Iranian government has approved the model for the new contract.
Hosseini later told reporters that bidding and negotiations for Iran's oilfields will start in June or July.
"The fields that will come for bidding are mostly big fields," he said, adding that some common fields it shares with other countries would also be open to bidding.
Hosseini added that the National Iranian Oil Company may also carry out negotiations for some individual projects.
One such project is Farzad-B Gas Field in the Persian Gulf. According to reports, India is close to securing development rights for develop Farzad-B, which has been excluded from the long list of Iran's oil and gas projects.
He invited international oil companies to "start sending their interests" on potential projects. Iran hopes to attract international oil companies to invest in its oil sector and boost production through the new contracts.
Iran also plans to hold a conference next month to unveil more details of its oil and gas projects under its new contractual framework.
The conference—a follow-up to an international event in Tehran last year—was scheduled to be held in London in February, but was postponed to May because of what Iranian officials blamed on: complications in getting visas.

Swedish Energy Minister Expected



Meanwhile ,Sweden's Energy Minister Ibrahim Baylan is slated to arrive in Tehran on Saturday to explore grounds for cooperation with Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh. This will be the second and final leg of Baylan's Middle East tour after visiting Turkey earlier in the week. The ministers are expected to discuss energy efficiency programs, renewables and petrochemical projects and production of equipment and machinery in oil and gas industry, Shana reported. Another area of talks can be drilling projects in the Caspian Sea, a particular point of interest for Swedish firms who want to operate in Iran's energy industry after sanctions against it were dropped in January. Tehran and Stockholm took one of the first steps to expand energy cooperation in the post-sanctions era in a December meeting between Zanganeh and Sweden's Enterprise and Innovation Minister Mikael Damberg in Tehran. In a statement ahead of his trip to Tehran, Baylan said Sweden must remain a leader in climate change adaptation and help make it easier for other countries to improve the efficiency of their energy use.

Director of the International Affairs Department of National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), Mohsen Qamsari, said on Monday that Iran needs foreign investment in development of joint fields.


'Any delay in development of joint fields will leave irreparable damage on the country,' Qamsari said.

Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zanganeh briefed Majlis closed-door session on Sunday on new model of oil contracts.

He said that the Oil Ministry has taken to account 15 points the Supreme Leader required to observe in foreign contracts.

Experts warn that any delay in signing contracts for foreign investment will hinder development of joint fields and will help the neighboring states to plunder Iranian oil reserves.

Qamsari said oil industry needs 100 billion dollars to be channeled to development projects in the form of investment.

 
 Tehran will host 1,787 domestic and foreign companies in the 21st International Oil, Gas, Refining and Petrochemical Exhibition of Iran (Iran Oil Show 2016), which will be held from May 5 to 8, said an official with the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC).

“Some 996 domestic companies and 634 foreign ones from 35 countries, as well as 157 representatives of foreign companies in Iran will take part in the event,” NIOC public relations director Mohammad Nasseri said, hailing the return of prominent international companies to Iran, the IRNA news agency reported on Wednesday.

“This is the country’s first oil show in post-sanction era and number of foreign participants has notably increased,” he underlined.

As he added, China, South Korea, Turkey, Germany, Spain, Italy, France, Austria and Finland are among the countries that plan to set up their special pavilions in this show, which will be held at Tehran Permanent International Fairground.

On February 9, Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said that $200 billion investment is required to develop the country’s oil industry.

“Internal resources are not enough to meet such need, therefore we should attract foreign investment”, the minister noted.

According to the report, More than 25 European and Asian-owned supertankers are shipping Iranian oil, data seen by Reuters show, allowing Tehran to ramp up exports much faster than analysts had expected following the lifting of sanctions in January.
"Iran has ramped up [oil export] harder and faster than expected," Citi analysts said.
Iran was struggling as recently as April to find partners to ship its oil, but after an agreement on a temporary insurance fix, more than a third of Iran's crude shipments are now being handled by foreign vessels, Reuters reported.
"Charterers are buying cargo from Iran and the rest of the world is OK with that," said Odysseus Valatsas, chartering manager at Dynacom Tankers Management. Greek owner Dynacom has fixed three of its supertankers to carry Iranian crude.
Some international ship owners remain reluctant to handle Iranian oil, however, due mainly to some US restrictions on Tehran that remain and prohibit any trade in dollars or the involvement of US firms, including banks and reinsurers.
Iran is seeking to make up for lost trade following the lifting of sanctions imposed in 2011 and 2012 over its nuclear program.
Port loading data seen by Reuters, as well as live shipping data, show at least 26 foreign tankers with capacity to carry more than 25 million barrels of light and heavy crude oil, as well as fuel oil, have either loaded crude or fuel oil in the last two weeks or are about load at Iran's Kharg Island and Bandar Mahshahr terminals. The resumption of international shipping of Iranian oil has been made possible by an increase in interim, limited insurance cover by "P&I clubs"—maritime mutual associations that provide "protection and indemnity" insurance to shippers.
The International Group of P&I Clubs, which represents the world's top 13 ship insurers, increased the amount covered by so-called "fallback" shipping insurance from 70 million to €100 million ($113.36 million) in April.
"The strong interest of the market in these trades pushed all the stakeholders to solve all the problems... and almost all P&I Clubs have granted their insurance," said Luigi Bruzzone of ship broker Banchero Costa.

  Near Pre-Sanctions Levels

With international vessels supporting Iran's own tanker fleet, traders said its oil exports were now close to pre-sanctions levels of around 2.5 million barrels per day.
Traders said that if Iran was close to capacity, it might not be able to offset supply disruptions that have occurred in other regions recently, including Nigeria or Libya, and which have already helped tighten the market and push oil prices to around $50 per barrel. Iran's oil exports were between 2.1 and 2.3 million bpd in April and May, up from 1.3 million bpd a year ago, when Iran was shut out of the European market and depended on limited shipments to Asian buyers.
Asia is the main destination for crude shipped by foreign vessels, with India, China and Japan the biggest takers, but at least four international tankers are also heading for Europe.
India, in particular, is playing a lead role as its demand soars and refiners such as Essar Oil, Reliance Energy, Hindustan Petroleum Corp and Bharat Petroleum Corp enjoy good ties with Iran. The non-Iranian companies currently chartered to carry its oil include Chinese state-controlled shipper China Shipping Development, PetroVietnam and Japan's Idemitsu Kosan.
Greek, Turkish and Seychelles-owned tankers are also shipping Iranian crude.

  Insurance Risk
The "fallback" cover is designed to offset any shortfall in payments from US reinsurers, who are still not allowed to deal with Iran. "We are not surprised to see the increase in Iranian cargoes given the progress made by the P&I clubs and obviously the increase in Iranian production," said Brian Gallagher, head of investor relations at leading Belgian tanker owner Euronav, which itself is not involved in Iran yet.
"We're interested in such trade... (but) it will still take time for Iran to be fully integrated, as there remain restrictions around dollar-denominated transactions."
Indeed, while the partial lifting of sanctions means foreign tankers can now transport Iranian oil, risks remain because large accidents might not be fully covered.