Iran to Resume Shipping Oil to Japan
The media in Tehran said on Saturday that Japan plans to extend a contract to purchase crude oil from Iran.
Shana news agency – affiliated to Iran’s Ministry of Petroleum – has reported that Japan’s contract will be extended until April 2017.
It added that the volume of oil that the country will purchase from Iran will also increase from the current level of 110,000 barrels per day. No figure was nevertheless provided on how much this will increase.
Japan is one of Iran's biggest oil buyers but its crude imports have nearly halved from 2011 levels before sanctions.
Japan has chose to lift its sanctions on Iran after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed the country had implemented measures promised under the newly-reached deal on its nuclear programme, Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida said.
Tehran hosted several major oil delegations from Japan over the past months during which the Japanese officials emphasized that the country is ready to return to pre-sanctions status of oil imports from Iran as soon as the bans against sales of Iranian oil are lifted.