The European Union plans to switch to the euro for oil purchases from Iran, eliminating the US dollar as the two sides work to protect bilateral trade against possible American sanctions, a Russian report says.
“I’m privy to the information that the EU is going to shift from dollar to euro to pay for crude from Iran,” the website of Russian news channel RT said on Wednesday, citing a diplomatic source who spoke to Sputnik news agency.
Iran exports about 450,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil to Europe and around 1.8 million bpd to Asia. The country has boosted its oil production nearly 1 million bpd since the nuclear deal lifted Western sanctions in January 2016.
US Treasury Department has instructed countries to make significant cuts to their imports over the next six months to be considered for potential sanctions relief. The US government has said the sanctions on Iran will go back into force from November 5.
Iran's main oil clients in Europe are Italy, France, Greece, Spain, Poland and Turkey. Turkey is the biggest importer with 250,000 bpd, followed by Greece at 120,000 bpd and France between 70,000-100,000 bpd.