January 2003: Russia Negotiating Oil Deal With Iran

Russia is negotiating a long-term oil swap contract with the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC). As part of the swap deal, Russia would send crude oil to Iran’s northern refineries for domestic consumption via a Chinese-built pipeline in exchange for an equal amount of Iranian oil being sent to Russia’s buyers at Iran’s Gulf oil terminals. The arrangement would make Russian oil available to non-European buyers at a competitive price by decreasing the cost of delivery. [Asia Times, 2/11/2003] United Press International will note in 2005 that the swap agreements are “a direct challenge to the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) Pipeline Project.” [United Press International, 6/29/2005]