Austria's OMV Receives Iran's 1st Oil Consignment: Report
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Austrian oil and gas group OMV has reportedly received Iran’s first shipment of crude oil, a report said.
According to the report carried by Reuters on Friday, OMV received 1 million barrels of crude oil from Iran in a spot delivery at the Italian port of Trieste which the energy group will send to its two refineries in Austria and Romania.
The delivery was Iran's first to OMV since 2012, when anti-Tehran sanctions were imposed on the country.
OMV is in talks with Iran about future deliveries, although no such contract has been signed yet, a spokesman of the firm said.
Friday's delivery included Iranian heavy and light crude, he added.
Back in May, the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) and OMV penned a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in a bid to revive energy cooperation between the two sides.
"This Memorandum of Understanding is an important first step in resuming OMV's activities in Iran and in the long-term cooperation with the NIOC," OMV Chief Executive Rainer Seele said at the time.
"We look forward to evaluating the opportunities of OMV in Iran and the cooperation with NIOC to evaluate whether there are areas of potential cooperation in the exploration and development of oil and gas," he added.
There has been growing enthusiasm for ties and cooperation with Iran since a lasting nuclear deal between Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) took effect on January 16.
The deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), terminated all nuclear-related sanctions on Iran, reopened the doors of foreign investment to the country’s market, and prepared the ground for a much-anticipated economic boom.
