Qasemi Confirms Oil Embargo Against Greece

Iran’s Minister of Petroleum Rostam Qasemi confirmed on 10 April earlier reports that the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) had embargoed crude oil exports to Greece’s two refining companies, Hellenic Petroleum and Motor Oil. Mr Qasemi was quoted by Press TV as saying that Tehran “has stopped exporting crude to Greece.” Neither Hellenic Petroleum nor Motor Oil commented on the Iranian decision, but MEES understands that Motor Oil stopped importing Iranian crude in January 2012, whereas Hellenic Petroleum, Greece’s largest refiner, had reduced its dependence on Iranian imports from one-third to around 25% of supplies.

Iran claims that NIOC terminated oil sales to Greece over the refiners’ failure to pay for their crude purchases from Tehran. However, the Greek refiners “fulfilled their contractual obligations to the fullest,” a senior Greek energy ministry official told MEES. The Greek Foreign Ministry has repeatedly stated that it is actively seeking alternative supplies from Libya, Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

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