IRAN SELLING DISCOUNTED CRUDE, JAPAN TRADERS SAY

  Japanese customers have bought nearly six
  mln barrels of crude oil from the National Iranian Oil Company
  (NIOC) at a substantial discount to the official price, and
  Western traders have received even larger discounts, Japanese
  traders involved in the transactions told Reuters.
      NIOC has sold its crude for March shipment to Japanese
  customers with different formulas. One company has bought
  800,000 barrels of Iranian Heavy at a straight discount of
  30-35 cents below the official price, the sources said.
      Other deals have been fixed with prices linked to Oman and
  Dubai spot prices less a discount, they said.
  
      Iran's discounted sales have not, however, managed to
  reverse the bullish tone in the crude oil and products spot
  markets, oil traders said.
      Market sentiment is being influenced more by the colder
  weather in Europe, and reports that OPEC's February output was
  below its self-imposed quota of 15.8 mln barrels per day.
      Firmer gas oil on the London futures, and more bullish
  sentiment on the New York Mercantile Exchange futures market
  are supporting spot price levels, they said.
  
      Another Japanese trading house has paid the official price
  but through a processing arrangement will effectively receive a
  discount, the sources said. "It's just disguised cheating," one
  Japanese trader said.
      The sources said only one Japanese company had paid the
  official price for Iranian oil. It has purchased 1.5 mln
  barrels of Iranian Heavy for April shipment for refining in
  Singapore. They said about nine VLCCs of Iranian crude have
  been sold to Western traders with pricing based 60 pct on the
  official price and 40 pct on spot prices, or with part of the
  price related to processing arrangements.
  
  

