NIOC to supply ELPE at least 2m barrels of crude a month

Greek refinery ELPE (Hellenic Petroleum) will be supplied at least 20 percent of its overall crude needs, or two million barrels per month, by NIOC, the state-run National Iranian Oil Company, it has been revealed.

NIOC, set to resume international trade following the recent lifting of western-imposed sanctions on Iran, is pushing to secure an even greater supply deal with ELPE, as was made clear during a meeting yesterday in Tehran between the head officials of the two companies.

It has also become known that the final agreement between the two companies specifies NIOC’s first crude oil delivery to ELPE will be made within the next two months.

Also, an older 600 million-euro debt amount owed by ELPE to NIOC, prompted by banking restrictions caused by the trade sanctions imposed on Iran in 2011, will be repaid over a four-year term, it has been confirmed. A first installment has been set at 100 million euros.

In addition, 50 percent of ELPE’s debt owed to NIOC will be covered through the supply of finalized products, while a further 10 percent of the debt figure will be settled through the provision of engineering services to be offered by Asprofos, an ELPE subsidiary firm, for Iranian refinery unit revamps.