Upon conducting several negotiations between officials of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) and the Anglo–Dutch Royal Dutch Shell, the two sides eventually reached a consensus of how to pay off the unpaid debt worth 2.3 billion dollars.
Seyed Mohsen Ghamsari, Executive Director for International Affairs at National Iranian Oil Company, confirmed the reaching of an accord with the Shell oil company adding “the resumption of Iran’s crude oil sales to the company remains subject to the payment of previous debts.”
“In the current situation, the method for clearing the debt has been identified,” stressed the official asserting “the meeting of the company’s outstanding debts will be carried out immediately after the complete removal of sanctions.”
On the other hand, Executive Vice President for Commercial and New Business Development of Royal Dutch Shell Edward Daniels has recently announced “Shell will pay off the 2.3-billion-dollar debt to the National Iranian Oil Company once the international sanctions are cancelled.”
Mehr News Agency had earlier reported in September that “in time, with the trip of British Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond on to Iran on the occasion of reopening the Britain’s embassy in Tehran, the new round of oil talks with Shell company was held in Iran’s Oil Ministry with the main pivot being the settlement of the company’s oil debt to Iran.”
Apparently, Philip Hammond has intervened in the meetings between Iran’s oil minister and the vice-president of Shell guaranteeing the meeting of outstanding debts during the post- sanction era.
NIOC Managing Director Roknodin Javadi has also pointed to the reached agreements with the UK and France to begin importing Iran's oil; “oil sale to Britain and France will get resumed as soon as the sanctions are lifted.”
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