11-06-01 Tehran has been cutting its oil transport tariffs in order to make itself more attractive as an outlet for Caspian oil which the US is trying to steer westward away from Iran. At the Caspian oil and gas conference in Baku the Iranian ambassador to Azerbaijan revealed that Iran had reduced its charges for swapping oil from Turkmenistan from $ 21 to $ 16 a ton, and to $ 13 a ton for Kazakhstan oil.
Ahad Gazai, the Iranian ambassador, also said Iran was offering further discounts of up to 10 % for larger quantities. At present, only a small amount of east Caspian oil is reaching northern Iranian refineries via a small pipeline starting at Iran's Caspian port of Nekah.
In exchange, Iran provides an equivalent amount of its own oil from its stocks in the Gulf. At the Baku conference, Burren Energy of the UK confirmed that it was now paying $ 16 a ton for the roughly 100 tons a day of Turkmen oil it was delivering into Iran, and that in return it was taking title to an equivalent amount of Iranian oil at the Kharg Island terminal on the Gulf.

Burren Energy had ExxonMobil as a partner in Turkmenistan, but the US oil major pulled out. ExxonMobil is barred by US sanctions against Iran from trading with the Islamic republic. Iran is mounting a diplomatic and commercial effort to attract Caspian oil as production in and around that inland sea increases.
Mr Gazai told oil companies at the Baku conference that transport of energy through Iran is secure and profitable. The US government conversely is promoting an east-west pipeline from Baku to Ceyhan on Turkey's Mediterranean which a BP-led consortium is gearing up to build.
The National Iranian Oil Company has also signed a $ 150 mm contract with Sinopec of China to adapt north Iranian refineries to taking sourer crudes from the north Caspian. The latter's current capacity of 50,000 bpd would be expanded to 120,000 bpd by the end of the year, and to 300,000 bpd eventually.