The second offering of crude oil on Iran Energy Exchange saw booming business as traders purchased all the 700,000 barrels of Iranian light crude on offer.
At 2:37 pm local time, three bids were made on IRENEX with the highest price quoted at $57.34 per barrel, against National Iranian Oil Company's base price of $71.59. NIOC lowered its base price first to $67.1 and then to $65.22 and finally to $64.97 per barrel, wire services reported. It was after that the traders made bids and bought two cargos at $64.97 per barrel, one containing 245,000 barrels and the other 210,000barrels.
According to local wire services, if the NIOC and IRENEX reach an agreement, crude oil will be offered on the stock market twice a week.
As was the rule in the first phase of trading on October 28, the minimum volume that should be purchased is 35,000 barrels.
In the first sale, eight cargos of 35,000 barrels each at the price of $74.85 per barrel were purchased by three brokerages.
IRENEX managing director, Ali Hosseini, told SENA that foreigners can also apply for trading codes and buy Iranian crude on the bourse. He said more than 100 trading codes have been given to overseas entities to enable them trade in oil in the bourse in Tehran.
Iran had made several unsuccessful attempts in the past to offer crude oil on the stock market in the past to involve the private sector and international buyers in the state-controlled oil sector -- the lifeblood of its economy.
The new measure has been touted by senior officials as an effective way to frustrate US sanctions. NIOC has announced that it will offer one million barrels of oil on the stock market each month. According to IRENEX the identity of traders will remain confidential but maximum effort will be made to make the process as transparent as possible.
