"Two million barrels of the cargo has been purchased by France's Total and the rest has been purchased by two companies from Russia and Spain," Javadi told Iran's Shana energy news network.
The barrels have already been loaded onto tankers headed for refineries in Europe; the Russian company is going to process the oil in its refinery in Romania, Javadi said.
Notices from both NIOC and Saudi Aramco show that one of Iran's main export grades, Iran Heavy, will cost $1.25 a barrel less than Saudi Arabia’s most similar crude for March deliveries.
On January 18 Roknoddin Javadi said Iran's Oil Ministry had been ordered to increase the country's daily output by 500,000 barrels following the lifting of sanctions, and Iran is aiming to raise its crude oil exports by a million barrels a day within six months of their removal.
