Energy Market

The Champs-Élysées Avenue in Paris seemed more like the Gaza Strip on Saturday as French protesters with “yellow vests” threw stones at riot police forces, who used tear gas to disperse the demonstrators outraged by fuel price hikes and President Emmanuel Macron’s policies.

A top Iranian Navy commander shrugged off US threats against the Islamic Republic and said the Armed Forces are fully ready to guarantee the security of the country’s oil tankers in international waters.

All the 700,000 barrels of crude oil released at Iran’s energy bourse were sold out at a rate of $64.97 in the second phase of supplying the Iranian crude oil through the market.

The US administration has reportedly agreed to allow eight countries – including Japan, India and South Korea – to keep buying crude oil from Iran after it re-imposes sanctions on the OPEC producer on Nov. 5, a senior administration official said.

Iran’s oil minister has denied reports that Tehran is selling its petroleum through Russia in a bid to bypass the US sanctions.

Iran has started supplying its crude oil to the private sector through its energy bourse, a local market which provides Iranian and foreign tradesmen with a chance to purchase Iran’s crude oil and export it to the international markets.

At least 110 small and medium-sized European firms have expressed their readiness to establish cooperation with the Islamic Republic of Iran in various areas of oil industry, an Iranian official says.

Iran’s Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh says the US cannot stop the oil price rise and tackle the current shortage in the world’s oil market by bullying other oil producers.

Iran’s petroleum minister, in an unannounced visit to Moscow, reached a deal with the Russian energy minister on a 1-million-bpd increase in oil output through joint efforts.

Iran's First Vice-President Es’haq Jahangiri says the Islamic Republic has found new customers for its crude oil after a number of its former clients stopped their purchases over fear of the US’ November sanctions.

Iran’s oil minister has rejected US President Donald Trump’s remarks that OPEC is to blame for the rise in oil prices, urging Washington to stop trying to hamper Iran’s oil trade if it really wants a drop in global oil prices.

Iran’s envoy to the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) says the oil prices may go down as US President Donald Trump wants only if he keeps quiet and stop posting tweets.

Media reports show that people of Iraq, and also other neighbours of Iran, are flocking to border markets of the Islamic Republic amid the historic devaluation of rial, turning basic commodities into rare goods for local residents.

A senior Iranian official says the United States’ claim that it will bring Iran’s petroleum sales to zero is just nonsense.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Tuesday inaugurated three new petrochemicals projects during his visit to the southern city of Asalouyeh in Bushehr Province.

Seyyed Mehdi Hosseini, a former deputy oil minister and an energy expert, says the US has no way but to grant sanction waivers to Iran’s oil customers.

The spokesman for Iran’s IRGC confirmed on Sunday that Iranian forces have successfully staged a drill in Persian Gulf earlier this week, saying the maneuver was carried out as part of the IRGC’s annual schedule.

An IRGC commander says it will be “natural” for Iran to respond if the US tries to the bully the country and carry out its threat to cut down Tehran’s oil exports.

IRGC Chief-Commander Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari has warned the US of the consequences of its efforts to cut Iran’s oil exports, saying that all oil transportation passageways are within Iran’s reach.

The Trump administration is engaged in intensive talks to persuade its European, Asian, and Middle Eastern allies to go along with US sanctions on Iran in a bid to increase pressure on Tehran, but it has yet to convince Turkey, a very important player in the region, to comply with its decision.

Sri Lanka says it is considering a plan to settle payments to Iran for previous oil purchases by exporting tea to the country at equivalent values.

The Tabriz oil refinery has reached a deal with a consortium involving Iranian and German firms to renovate its sulphur recovery unit.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has advised his US counterpart not to play with fire by voicing frequent threats against the Iranian nation, amid an escalating war of words between Tehran and Washington.

Analysts believe the US is unlikely to become strict with Iran before the by-elections of the US Congress in November given the dire consequences of a possible hike in oil prices.

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Seyyed Abbas Araqchi says Indian officials have expressed their interest in buying Iran’s crude oil despite the US sanctions.