Vitol to resume Caspian oil swaps with Iran – sources

Reuters: International trading house Vitol will resume Caspian oil swaps with Iran after a year-long suspension of operations, industry and trade sources said on Thursday.

MOSCOW, June 23 (Reuters) – International trading house Vitol will resume Caspian oil swaps with Iran after a year-long suspension of operations, industry and trade sources said on Thursday.

“Vitol is resuming Iranian swaps. I think there there’s really good money in it,” a Mediterranean trader told Reuters.

Vitol has already signed a swap agreement with National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) but the swap operations, under which Vitol supplies Iran with Caspian oil in exchange for Iranian crude volumes for loading on the Persian Gulf, will most likely start up again toward the end of the year, another source close to the deal said. (Reporting by Alla Afanasyeva and Gleb Gorodyankin; writing by Jessica Bachman; editing by John Bowker) ((jessica.bachman@reuters.com, +7 495 775 12 42, Reuters Messaging: jessica.bachman.reuters.com@reuters.net))