Iran cuts oil export to Shell due to $1 bln debt - minister

Azerbaijan, Baku, April 19 / Trend S.Isayev, T. Jafarov/ Iran has cut oil export to Royal Dutch Shell as a result of a $1 billion debt, Iran's oil minister Rostam Qasemi said, Mehr reported. Qasemi noted that Shell is working to pay off its debt to Iran. Royal Dutch Shell was struggling to pay off $1 billion that it owes Iran for crude oil because European Union and U.S. financial sanctions now make it almost impossible to process payments. Increasing sanctions cut off Iran from the rest of the banking world, when the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) said it wouldn't process transactions involving Iran. That has made it difficult for Shell to pay for the oil it buys. One of Iran's biggest crude oil customers, Shell bought between 150,000 to 200,000 barrels of oil a day. With daily contract volumes of 100,000 barrels, Shell was ranked as Iran's second biggest corporate client - along with France's Total - behind Turkey's Tupras. Do you have any feedback? Contact our journalist at agency@trend.az