Russian oil giant Lukoil plans to resume refining of Iranian oil at the company's ISAB refinery located on the Italian island of Sicily to replace Russian Urals brand oil, President of Lukoil Vagit Alekperov said on Thursday.
"Today, we want to return it [Iran's oil] there [to the ISAB], because at the moment Urals is more expensive than Iranian oil. Today, we are placing it at other refineries very effectively," Alekperov told reporters, Sputnik reported.
He added that oil from Iran was the best option for ISAB, because it was designed for 70% of heavy oil from Iran and 30% of light oil from Libya.
Alekperov added that oil from Iran was the best option for ISAB, because it was designed for 70% of heavy oil from Iran and 30% of light oil from Libya.
Iran began stepping up international trade and investment cooperation after reaching a historic deal on its nuclear program to ensure its peaceful nature in exchange for the suspension of international anti-Iran sanctions, in particular on its oil sector, in July 2015.
In April, Iran signed a deal with European refineries that could allow for the country to sell up to 700,000 barrels of oil per day to Europe. The deal was set to be implemented "within the next few months", according to the country's Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh.
