TEHRAN: To Rudy Rote, the managing director of the Austrian Rote Oil company, two potential factors can clear the way for his company to resume crude oil imports from Iran with one being a positive history of crude oil trade with Iran and the other, the easing of sanctions.
According to Rudy Rote, Tehran is virtually turning into a negotiation table where the landmark nuclear accord reached between Iran and western powers on Iran’s peaceful nuclear program has whet the appetite of giant oil companies across the world to rekindle their ties with Iran. His company, of course, is no exception, he implied.
The official news network of Iran’s Oil Ministry, Rote looked very optimistic towards the future of oil cooperation with Iran and stipulated that his company can help Iran export its crude oil to European countries and big refineries with which Rote Oil is cooperating.
The managing director also noted that Rote Oil runs small refineries with a biodiesel output. Producing biofuel has recently gained momentum in the Euro zone and according to Rudy Rote, his company is constructing one of the biggest biodiesel-producing refineries ever built in Europe.
Rote Oil is one of the biggest private companies in Austria, with an active workforce of around 30000 in different oil and gas sectors. Too, the company runs some small oil refineries and numerous fuel stations.
Already in September, Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh and Austrian oil and gas group OMV’s Chief Executive Officer Rainer Seele, met in Tehran to explore ways for expansion of bilateral ties.
Global energy companies are showing interest in a post-sanctions Iran, though most have said they’re waiting on the wings.
Several trade and economic delegations from different countries have recently visited Iran considering their options in an eventual post-sanctions climate.