Ukraine Tapped as Conduit for Iran Petrochem Exports

Ukraine can help Iran enhance its reach to European petrochemical markets, the chief executive officer of National Petrochemical Company said.

Marzieh Shahdaei made the statement on the sidelines of a meeting with Sergei Burdiliak, the Ukrainian ambassador to Iran, Shana reported on Monday.

The two sides discussed Ukraine's potential as a marketing hub for Iran's petrochemical products as well as transfer of technology.

"Iran can sell petrochemicals to European markets under swap operations or embark on exports directly through Ukraine," Shahdaei said.

"Iran's petrochemical exports to East Europe have jumped by 70% in the first half of the year compared with the same period of previous year," she added, without providing details.

The NPC chief noted that according to the Ukrainian ambassador, bilateral trade ties, particularly in the petrochemical sector, have significantly increased following the lifting of sanctions. Shahdaei said Ukraine has three oil refineries that use Russian feedstock, but those facilities are poised to use Iranian crude oil.

Ukraine reportedly purchased $236,000 worth of crude oil from Iran in June but the purchase rose to $5.4 million in July, which saw the East European country importing 152,655 tons of oil in total, according to Press TV, citing Ukraine's State Fiscal Service.

Iran's crude oil exports to European Union countries in the first four months of the year reached 9.31 million tons, more than six times higher than those in the corresponding period last year.

That is equivalent to a total of 66.5 million barrels, or nearly 560,000 barrels per day, Tasnim News Agency reported last month, citing Eurostat, the official news portal of the European Commission.

The 28-nation bloc took in 1.37 million tons of oil in January-April 2016. The higher export is largely attributed to the lifting of international restrictions against Iran, which allowed the OPEC member to recoup the lost ground in the global crude market.