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Empresas y finanzas

Sanctions to hit EU buyback firms: Iran oil chief


    TEHRAN (Reuters) - European oil companies that are owed oil by Iran could lose out if Iran imposes a ban on crude exports to the EU next week, a measure currently before the Iranian parliament, the head of Iran's state oil company said on Saturday.

    "Generally, the parties to incur damage from the EU's recent decision will be European companies with pending contracts with Iran," Ahmad Qalebani, head of the National Iranian Oil Co. told the ISNA news agency.

    "The European companies will have to abide by the provisions of the buyback contracts," he said. "If they act otherwise, they will be the parties to incur the relevant losses and will subject the repatriation of their capital to problems."

    The EU banned imports of oil from Iran on Monday and imposed a number of other economic sanctions, joining the United States in a new round of measures aimed at deflecting Tehran's nuclear development programme.

    (Reporting by Hossein Jaseb; Writing by Robin Pomeroy; Editing by Ben Harding)