(MENAFN- Trend News Agency ) Baku, Azerbaijan, August 7
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
On August 3, the vessel 'VF Tanker-20' under the Russian flag arrived and discharged in the Iranian port 'Neka' for unloading about 6,000 tons of Turkmen oil of the Dragon Oil company production, a source in Azerbaijan's oil and gas market told Trend Aug.7.
The shipment took place on August 3-4 in the terminal owned and operated by the NIOC (National Iranian Oil Company), said the source.
'This is the first oil shipment in a long time that Dragon Oil, 100 percent owned by the UAE's ENOC, has decided to supply to Iran independently jointly with its subsidiary trade structure ENOC Trading in Singapore,' said the source. 'So far, Dragon Oil has sold all export volumes of oil on tenders on the basis of FOB Alaja, Turkmenistan. Due to the sanctions against Iran, those volumes since 2011, were directed towards Europe through Azerbaijan (Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline or Baku-Batumi railway) or Russia (Makhachkala-Novorossiysk oil pipeline).'
The source pointed out that the decision of Dragon Oil and ENOC to resume the oil supply to Iran has surprised market actors.
'In the situation when Dragon Oil carries out all payments of the Turkmen oil in US-dollars, works with American contractors on a long-term basis (for example, the US company Schlumberger), and have the US citizens in managing positions, the decision to resume supplies to Iran looks hasty and risky,' said the source. 'It is also surprising that ENOC, the UAE national oil company, is actively developing new business with Iran, bypassing US sanctions, despite the fact that the UAE is the US' main ally in the region.'
It's not excluded that this supply to Iran was not initially planned by the Dragon Oil company, the source believes.
'Thus, the 'VF Tanker-20' vessel arrived in the Azerbaijan's Baku port and was on a raid from July 25 to August 1. Nevertheless, the vessel was not allowed to unload due to the presence of the non-documented (possibly contraband) cargo on it. Afterwards, the ENOC has sent the tanker to the Iranian port Neka, where it's possible to unload the cargo without presenting the documents on goods,' noted the source.
The source said that currently, market actors are awaiting development of the situation - maybe this oil shipment unloaded on Neka was accidental because of the problems with documentation, or probably, it is just beginning of the planned program for Turkmen oil delivery to Iran.
'ENOC's current activity on shipment market and sending several vessels of the Russian company VF Tanker to the Caspian Sea in the direction of Alaja port also speaks in favor of the second version,' added the source.
It was earlier reported that the Dragon Oil company, the operator of the Turkmen Cheleken oil field, the products of which are mainly transported via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, may reduce the volumes of oil transportation through the capital of Azerbaijan, as it is considering to resume oil swap operations with Iran.
The Dragon Oil company has been transporting oil from Turkmenistan through the port of Baku since June 2010. The company has been operating in Turkmenistan since 1999 as part of the Production Sharing Agreement (PSA) and is one of the largest foreign investors in the country.
Its principal producing asset is the Cheleken contract area (around 950 square kilometers) in the eastern section of the Caspian Sea, offshore Turkmenistan.
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