Canadian company increases flow with Kazakh - Iranian swap...
Canada's PetroKazakhstan plans to increase oil shipments to Iran's Tehran refinery to 21,000 b/d. This is under a swap agreement where the company takes back delivery of Iranian Light on the Persian Gulf.
The Calgary-based company, which produces 100,000 b/d in Kazakhstan, said that the swap arrangement allowed it to "achieve the maximum sales price for its crude while minimizing the distance and cost of transportation."
It said a first shipment of 26,800 bbl of crude oil was delivered to the refinery in late December under the swap arrangement agreed upon last year.
"Sales via this route continued in January and will build over the next few months to the current contractual maximum of 21,000 b/d (1 million metric tons per year)," the company said.
Despite periodic pressure from Washington to keep its distance from Iran, Kazakhstan is keen to expand its commercial ties with the Islamic republic and increase the volume of crude that is swapped for Iranian barrels made available at the Kharg Island terminal.
