Iran's nuclear agreement could boost oil market

Tehran’s mid-July nuclear agreement provides space for its re-entry into the global oil market, and for international oil companies to plant their flags back in the Islamic Republic

Now that the ink has dried on the historic nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1 group on 14 July, international oil company chiefs are revisiting old plans and tentatively re-engaging with the Islamic Republic’s hydrocarbons leadership. Meanwhile, some of Iran’s biggest customers are in talks over buying greater volumes of crude, anticipating some hefty discounts as Tehran seeks to claw its way back into the Asian market. International sanctions imposed to force Iran to curb its nuclear programme have halved oil exports to just over 1m barrels/day (b/d) since 2012. But the International Energy Agency has estimated that Iranian oilfields, which pumped around 2.87m b/d in July, could in