Iran has signed deals to export 700,000 barrels of oil per day to Europe, Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said after a meeting with EU Climate Action and Energy Commissioner Miguel Arias Canete in Tehran on Saturday.

“Iran has already signed deals to export 700,000 barrels of oil per day to Europe, but the whole volume is not currently taken. I think it may be possible within the next few months,” Zanganeh said.

EU is very interested in long-term cooperation with Iran and sees Iran a reliable and dependable partner to meet its energy needs, he added.

Before the EU embargo on Iran in 2012, Europe imported on average about 400,000 barrels of oil a day from Iran, according to the International Energy Agency. Spanish refiner Cepsa alone was buying about 60,000 barrels a day. Total SA was among the biggest purchasers. Other European top buyers in the past included Repsol SA, Eni SpA and Hellenic Petroleum SA.

/ Tehran times /