Iran to sign oil contract to sell Russia 100,000 bpd

Iran announced on Tuesday it will begin selling 100,000 barrels of oil a day to Russia within the next 15 days and receive payment half in cash and half in goods and services, the Iranian Students' News Agency (ISNA) reported. 

Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh provided details about the deal after meeting Russian energy minister Alexander Novak in Tehran, ISNA said.

"Of course we were ready to sign the contract tonight but our Russian counterpart was in a hurry and had to go to the airport,” Zanganeh said. He added that a number of Russian companies have already signed memorandums of understanding with Iranian companies.

Zanganeh said that Russia will be cooperating with an OPEC decision last November to cut production levels and will be reducing its oil output by 300,000 bpd, according to ISNA.