http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=531§ionid=351020103
Iran oil bourse to open soon
Sun, 25 Feb 2007 00:39:13
Iran's petroleum exchange will begin operation in the near future, said
the secretary of the country's High Council for Free Trade and Industrial Zones
on Saturday.
Mahmud Salahi said Iran decided to establish a euro-based oil bourse on
the Persian Gulf island of Kish, because "there was no such oil trading body in
the region."
"Iran's oil bourse could help many countries transact petroleum under
more favorable conditions," he said.
He did not say when exactly the bourse would open.
The official also said that senior officials from the Oil Ministry and
the Kish Free Trade Zone Organization (KFTZO) will meet with members of the
Majlis (Iran's parliament) Energy Commission in the near future to discuss
issues related to making the groundbreaking project operational.
Salahi said the KFTZO and a number of other Iranian bodies have made
large investments in the project.
The oil bourse would transact petroleum, petrochemicals and gas in
various non-dollar currencies, primarily the euro. It would also establish a
euro-based pricing mechanism for oil trading, or oil marker as it is called by
traders.
The three current oil markers are all U.S.-dollar denominated.
The two major oil bourses are the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) in
New York City and the International Petroleum Exchange (IPE) in London. The
Iranian bourse would establish a fourth oil marker, denominated by the euro.
